Obsession
by TheWindAlchemist
Summary: Hinata Hyuga and Gaara are best friends.They're both obsessed with Anime and Manga,currently worshipping the organization,Akatsuki.What happens when Hinata finds a real-life Akatsuki organization?But wait..Akatsuki's a Cosplay group?DeiHinaGaa.Ch.15 up!
1. Anime

Welcome to… This story. It's about using the anime fandom to win over the love of your face. Love, hate, anime, manga… all of which do not belong to me. Well, hate and love… I do own… (I _know_ I'm not making sense! Lay off you nonexistent naggers! _Gosh!_) Alright. So basically, this is a DeiHina_Gaara_ fanfiction.

…I know what you're saying: "TheWindAlchemist! What the hell are you thinking!?" Well, I was thinking, "Hey, the likeness of anime has been in some of my stories for quite a long time. I know, maybe I'll make a story focused completely on the _**obsession**_ of anime and manga! Awesome! It can have Gaara in it too! Hooray!" Due to the fact that all my stories have Hinata and the Akatsuki involved in them, it's only natural…

Yes, there are better titles. No, I don't own any of the things mentioned in this story. Yes, I've completely gone out of my mind. No, I'll take the hamburger with the fries instead.

So yeah. The only thing I own here is the words…

Ah, I forgot something. OMGZ HINATA ANDZ GAARA IS BESTEST FRNDS!! THEY R **OBSESSED** W/ANIME AND MANGA AND VIDEO GAMES AND STUFFS LIEK THT!! Yeah. (Oh my god(z) Hinata and Gaara are best friends and are obsessed with anime and manga and video games and stuff like that. Yeah.)

**Obsession**

Hinata stared blankly at the board as the teacher explained how life was hard for the pioneers and how Lewis and Clark met Sacagawea and how pioneers and Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea were closely related and…

Bah, whatever. You'd think they'd be teaching about Japanese history, but she wasn't even paying attention. The subject she was in right now was History, if you haven't noticed her totally bored and uninterested attitude in class. Due to… alleged happenings around class and school, every class was to have assigned seating. Luckily for Hinata, though, she got a seat next to her best friend, Gaara. She looked down at her notebook and started doodling around her notes.

Gaara noticed this and leaned forward, watching the artist at work. He let out a small sign of laughter when he saw that it was a doodle of Deidara throwing random clay birds at Tobi (who was on the other side of the paper) for doing something incredibly stupid. It was a running joke of theirs that Deidara was always annoyed with Tobi for doing something bad or dumb. Hinata smiled contentedly at her creation, writing in the lower right corner a caption that read 'Deidara and Tobi' and the date.

Hinata never got caught doodling. The teacher was too wrapped up in the lesson to care who was listening or not. Odd were that one of the students were listening, and that was the only fact that kept teachers going. Hinata tore out a blank piece of paper and folded it in half, drawing some kind of group picture. She slid it over to Gaara's desk, silently asking him to do whatever the hell he wanted to do with it. Grinning, Gaara took out a pen, drawing swift French moustaches on all the characters.

When Hinata got it back, she was slightly pissed at what he did. On the back, she wrote, _WTH DID U DO THAT?_ Gaara only responded with an _lol :D_ Hinata held back a laugh.

After class, Gaara and Hinata walked to their lockers, laughing. "Hey, can I keep this?" he asked, looking over the drawing as he walked. "Whatever. I don't really care what you do with it as long as-" she was cut off when Gaara said, "This is going on deviantART!" Hinata reached for the picture, but Gaara stuffed it in his pocket. "No fair! You know that I hate my drawings to be posted on the internet!" Gaara only grinned. "Then why do you have 15 of your drawings on the site, huh?" he walked quickly to his locker.

"Don't follow me!" he said. "I can't help it! We share the same locker!" Hinata huffed. "I call getting my stuff first!" he called. "Not again!" the two laughed. Gaara quickly opened their locker, brushing away a few anime pictures from atop one of the textbooks. They were mostly pictures of the Akatsuki, an evil organization in the anime Naruto. Hinata and Gaara practically worshipped them (in their own fangirl/boy way).

"Did you read the new chapter of Naruto?" Hinata asked. "I can't believe Sauce-Gay actually won! God, I hate him!" Gaara said, slamming their locker door closed. Hinata nodded. "I hate the new Evil Tobi! I miss the fun-loving idiot that was fun to draw T.T …" she complained. "Hey, you think its okay to bring my iPod to study hall?" Gaara asked, fingering the iPod in his pocket. Hinata shrugged. "I'm bringing mine anyway." Gaara nudged her in the arm. "You're always breaking the rules!" he said.

They quietly walked into the Study Hall room so that they wouldn't disturb the others. The teacher gave them a quiet 'Hi' and continued to read his book. Gaara and Hinata smiled as they made their way to the back of the room and sat down. Immediately they took out their iPods and manga for the day.

Hinata brought _.hack/GU+_ and Gaara brought D.N.Angel volume 11. "Oh my god! .hack/GU+ is out?" Gaara asked excitedly (and quietly), taking the book out of Hinata's hands. "Hey, give that back!" Hinata hissed at him. "Can I read it _pleeease?_" he asked, smiling at her. Hinata sighed. "Fine. I'll just draw." She took out her sketch book and a pencil.

"Oh hey, you still haven't drawn me yet." Gaara said. Letting out a low growl, Hinata scribbled something and then showed it to Gaara. "I don't look like that." He said. "Yes you do. See, I got the stupid red hair and stupid dark eyes." Hinata mocked, erasing the drawing. "Come _on!_ Please draw me! And make me look awesome!" Hinata sighed. "Alright, alright…"

Gaara grinned. "Hey, can you come over today?" he asked. Hinata shrugged. "I'll text my dad and ask him." Hinata took out her cell phone, telling Gaara to watch for the teacher. Hinata smiled. "Yeah, he says it's cool." She said. "Cool, 'cause I gotta show you something really cool in Kingdom Hearts."

"Alright."

-:-

After school Gaara and Hinata walked down the sidewalk in the general direction of Gaara's house. "Dude, how far have you gotten in Kingdom Hearts? Are you up for spoilers?" he asked her, linking his 

arm with hers. "Not that far… I'm usually on the computer nowadays and it's Neji that gets all the video games…" Hinata said. "But I'm totally fine with spoilers…" she added. "One question though…" She started.

Gaara glanced at her. "How come you hate it when I tell you spoilers about something when I'm not?" Hinata looked at him. "Beecuz…" he paused. "I'm cool like that!" he declared dynamically, pointing to the sky. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM!?" he shouted. "I think you're crazy and sick in the head. Look, your house is right there." Hinata said flatly, ignoring the clouds of gloom looming over Gaara.

"Gaara! Bringing a girl home again, I see!" Kankurou waved to him from the porch. "Hey! She's only a friend! A _friend!_" Gaara yelled, turning a bit red. "_Girl_friend." Kankurou ran into the house with Gaara right behind him in a furious rage. Hinata laughed.

"Hi, Hinata. You thirsty?" Temari asked from the kitchen. "Ah, no, I'm fine. Thank you though." Hinata smiled at her. "Alright. You can go ahead to Gaara's room, he'll be there after he beats Kuro to a pulp." Temari nodded to the stairs. "Thank you. Bye." Hinata hurried up the stairs and into the door on the left.

Hinata waited patiently, witting on his bed and reading _.hack/GU+_ that she didn't get to look at during study hall. Gaara returned a few minutes later, propping a baseball bat that was stained purple and red against the wall. "You didn't actually kill him, did you?" Hinata asked worriedly. "Nah. He just tried to defend himself by throwing Temari's make-up bottles at me. She wears more purple and red than I thought…" Gaara said indifferently, walking over to turn on the PS2.

"Okay, so this thing is reeeeeally cool. It's something called the '1,000 Heartless Challenge'. I just found it this morning!" Gaara selected the file that read 'Crystal Fissure'. Battle music was playing and Hinata moved to lie on her stomach to watch. Gaara made Sora walk towards the place where the huge battle took place.

"Alright… so people talking, that guy –I forgot what his name is- summons all these Heartless and Sora has to fight them all on his own. When I first saw this I was like, 'Oh god, I gotta show Hinata!' You wanna play?" Gaara handed Hinata the controller. "Ah… Okay."

A few hours had passed, and now Gaara and Hinata were close to finishing the game. Hinata looked at the clock and gasped. "It's that late already? Gaara, I have to go." Gaara, being absorbed in the game, responded, "Yeah, bathroom's down the hall to your left…" Hinata leaned over and hit the start button on the controller, making the game pause. "No, I mean I have to head home now, or dad will be mad." Gaara stood up. "Oh! Okay, sorry." He followed her to the door.

"Uh… Hey, Hinata?" Gaara said, making Hinata pause to look at him. "If you can… Could you come over tomorrow too? Like, if you're dad doesn't get mad at me again." He turned a light pink. Hinata smiled. "Sure. Bye, see you tomorrow." She gave him a quick hug and walked out the door. Gaara watched her until she turned a corner and out of sight then heaved a heavy sigh.

"You sure you two aren't going out?" Temari asked from the living room. "No! God, what is it with older siblings and their younger brother's life!?" Gaara growled at her. "Well, you turned pretty dark red when 

she hugged you just now." Temari said, grinning devilishly. Gaara blushed a dark red. "Shut up!" he stomped up the stairs and into his room, muttering incoherent curses as he went up.

-:-

"Hey… how much farther until we get back to the base?" A man with blonde hair put up in a ponytail asked tiredly.

"Quit calling it a base. It's a freaking clubhouse." Another man with a fluff of red hair said, sounding very annoyed.

"I'll call it whatever I want to! What's it matter what I call it anyway?" The blonde retorted.

"Come on, it's too small to be called a base and too big to be called a shack. So just call it a clubhouse." The redhead said, letting out a tired sigh.

"A clubhouse? That's so… so… so elementary school! Everyone else has a name for it- The leader calls it home, he lives there!"

"Deidara, you're beginning to piss me off."

"Sasori, you're pissing me off!"

These two people arguing were walking down the sidewalk. They were terribly late for a terribly late-night meeting that their leader called at short notice. Their names were Deidara –the blonde haired man, and Sasori –the man with the fluff of red hair. Now, what did they have to do with Hinata Hyuga and her walk back home from Gaara's house? Well, it's quite simple, really.

"Deidara, watch out-!" Deidara tripped and fell, hearing something squeak under his weight. _…A squeaky toy?_ He thought, looking down. He let out a small gasp when he realized that it was actually a girl. A quite pretty girl… cute, too. But she looked like she was sleeping… was she sleeping here on the street?

"Idiot, get off her!" Sasori pulled on Deidara's collar and threw him off the girl. "W-Wait… She's sleeping." Deidara said. "No, you bumped into her –stupidly, I might add- and made her fall. She hit her head on the pole." Sasori explained. "Well you could've _helped_ me! Like I dunno, pulled on my arm or something!?" As Deidara started complaining, Sasori noticed that something fell out of her bag –no, out of her hands. It was a book, something a little smaller than a novel. Was she reading and walking at the same time?

Sasori picked up the book. "Hey, look." He said. Deidara gasped. "Oh god! .hack/GU+! It's out?" he took the book from Sasori and skimmed through the pages. "Wait… where'd you get this so suddenly? Don't tell me you went to the bookstore without telling me!" Sasori elbowed Deidara in the gut and took the book back. "It's from the girl. She dropped it."

"Oh, we should help her now, shouldn't we?" Deidara said, moving towards Hinata. "Hey, wake up now, sleepyhead." He gently shook her. "Ack-! D-Deidara! B-B-Blood!" Sasori pointed to the pole, noting that there was a small red spot that trailed down to the ground. "Gaah! Blood! Oh no- what if I killed her!?" Deidara panicked, picking the girl up. "Sasori, meet me at the bridge with a butcher knife and garbage bags!" he said. "Are you kidding me!? She's not dead! She's just bleeding in the head! Come on, let's take her to the base- I mean clubhouse!"

Deidara paused. "…See? Base is a much cooler name than clubhouse." He snickered, Hinata still in his arms. "Shut up! I think the base is nearby. Come on." Sasori started walking towards the base-shack-clubhouse.

They walked in silence until Deidara said, "Hey… Sasori, doesn't she look a little like…" Sasori glanced back at him. "Yeah, I know. Maybe we'll ask her to join the club." He said. "Sure, but hot-_damn_ she is pretty! I wish she were awake so that I could see her eyes." Deidara said, squeezing Hinata a little. "Please. You don't have a chance with her. Your first impression was a hit to the head with a pole, for all she knows." Sasori said in an indifferent tone. "Shut up!"

-:-

"When does Hinata plan on coming home?" Hiashi angrily crossed his arms over his chest, looking out the window. Neji started putting on his jacket. "I'll go see if she's still at Gaara's house." He said. Hiashi let out a low growl. "_Gaara…_ the son of the guy running my rivaling company! I don't like him." He said. "…Then why'd you let Hinata go to his house in the first place?" Neji asked. Suddenly, Hiashi turned into a doting father with an obsession with his cute daughter. "Because then she wouldn't be happy! And being the good father that I am, I would _never_ want my daughter to be unhappy!" he said, almost cheerfully. "…You spoil us in the _weirdest_ ways…" Neji said, walking out the door.

In at least fifteen minutes, Neji arrived at Gaara's house, knocking on the door. Gaara answered, since Temari and Kankurou were already sleeping. "Oh, hey! How are ya, Neji?" he grinned. "…Yeah. Hi. Is Hinata still here? It's time for her to come home." Neji said. Gaara had a confused look. "…She left about an hour ago. She's not home yet?" he asked worriedly. "No, she's not. Do you know where she might've gone?" he asked. Gaara shook his head. "No, sorry. But I'll help look, If you need the help." He said. Neji nodded. "Okay. Come on. I need your help anyway."

Gaara changed out of his pajamas and put on his jacket. "Do you think she was kidnapped?" he asked as they ran down the street. "Probably." Neji grunted, running ahead. They didn't even know where she was. "…Why didn't you walk her home, Gaara?" he asked after a while. Gaara shrugged. "I thought she'd be fine by herself." He answered. "At night? You know how much she gets into trouble!" Neji said. "Well…" Gaara trailed off. "You're so stupid! A man should _never_ let a woman walk home by herself at night!"

"You're right, I'm stupid! But it's not my fault that…" _She's so cute that she'd get kidnapped!_ Gaara stopped running. "There's blood on that pole over there." He said. Neji walked over to the pole. "…Good eye. The blood's not completely dry, so somebody must've…" he paused. "OH MY GOD! They KILLED 

her!" he gasped. Gaara shook his head. "Well it's not like this is Hinata's blood. I mean, anybody could have…" There's been a lot of dramatic trailing off today.

"Hinata's fine. There's no need to worry." Gaara started walking back home. "Wait a minute! How do you know!?" Neji yelled. "Friend-telepathy. Why?" he answered, shrugging. "But I'm her own brother! Shouldn't we have some kind of telepathy or something?" he asked. "I dunno. I'm not _you_." Gaara said with a slight hint of disgust. "That's not fair! Tell her to show us where she is!" Neji demanded. "She's asleep. But I know that she's okay."

"She's asleep? Dammit, she should've called me or something when she was going back home! Aw man, Dad's gonna be so pissed!" Neji freaked. "Whatever. G'night, Neji." Gaara continued walking back home. "You can at least _act_ worried!" Neji said. "I _am_ worried, douche bag! It's just that it's not that cool to show it." Gaara had a somewhat superior look on his face. "Who're you calling a douche bag!?"

"I'm calling _you_ douche bag, douche bag!"

"_You're_ the douche!"

"Fine! We're both huge piles of douche! I'm going home to sleep, alright?" Gaara got tired of that fast. He started walking back home, ignoring Neji's constant yelling.

-:-

For as long as she could remember, Hinata was addicted to anime and manga. And, for as long as she could remember, she was into drawing and artwork as well. She started drawing when she saw Pokemon. She collected the cards just to draw them. Then Sailor Moon aired on TV. The transformation sequence hit her with amazement every time. So much so that she memorized every movement the sailor scout made. It was fun, but she forgot the dance a few years later.

Then her parents got cable. _Good_ cable. With On Demand. Hinata invited Gaara to play at her house one day, and they came across Neji watching something incredibly funny on TV. Curious, the two watched with him, and started laughing very hard at only the opening credits. Hinata bought the DVDs and saw the previews for other shows. Thus, opening the door to the wonderful world called Anime.

Recently (more like a year ago), she got into the anime called Naruto. She watched Naruto Shippuuden online, and read all the recent manga chapters. She fell in love with the evil organization called Akatsuki, instantly making Gaara a fan of them as well. She drew her favorite characters, Deidara, Sasori, and Tobi constantly.

And now, as she was waking up from a sudden blow to the head, she saw blonde hair put up in a ponytail, a fluff of red hair, and an orange mask with swirled black lines.

"Ah, Deidara-san, she's awake!" the one wearing an orange mask called. "Really? Cool." Another voice from across the room said. Hinata heard footsteps coming closer, and then suddenly a somewhat familiar face came into view. "Hello, there." He said, smiling. Hinata turned a dark red.

"Oh, is she up now?" another person walked into the room. Now three people were surrounding her. "Yeah." The one with an orange mask said. Deidara helped Hinata sit up, taking a seat beside her on the bed. Hinata just stared at him with wide eyes. _He looks exactly like…_ her thoughts trailed off and she felt slightly dizzy.

Sasori sat at the foot of the bed. "Hinata-san, are you feeling okay?" he asked, a slightly worried expression on his face. "U-U-Um… Wh-Where a-am I…?" She managed to stutter. Deidara suddenly hugged her. "Oh god, you're voice is so cute!" He gushed, rubbing his face against hers. She turned a darker red, falling limp in his arms. "Ah, you killed her." Tobi said.

_Th-Th-They l-look… all of them… T-Tobi… Sasori… and… D-Deidara is h-hugging me! D-Deidara, the Akatsuki –from Naruto –is hugging me! These three men… they're from Akatsuki!_ Hinata slowly regained consciousness. When she did, she snapped up in bed, letting out a small squeak. "Deidara-san!" she yelled. "Yes?" Hinata turned to her left, immediately grabbing Deidara's face.

"Cosplay!" she declared. "Wh-What?" Deidara asked, gripping her wrists and moving them away from his face. "Y-You're cosplaying as Deidara-san from Akatsuki!" she said, a big smile on her face. Sasori let out a small laugh. "Not exactly…" he said. "Oh my god! A-And you! Y-You're cosplaying as Sasori!" Hinata pointed to Sasori. She turned to her right and suddenly glomped Tobi. "And you're Tobi!" she said happily.

She stood up suddenly. "Where am I?" She asked. "Um… You're in the Akatsuki base, really." Sasori answered. "wait…" Hinata sat down. "I'm dreaming. Akatsuki and the anime Naruto doesn't exist." Tobi patted her back and grinned under his mask. "Akatsuki is us." He said.

Sasori pulled her back onto the bed. "Hinata, I want to explain something to you." He said. Hinata nodded. "I am Sasori, that's Deidara, and he's Tobi. We are all from Akatsuki, but we're not the evil organization from Naruto." He paused to make sure that she was listening. "The Akatsuki you see here is…" Hinata stared intently at him.

"Akatsuki is… a Cosplay Group. And we want you to join." Sasori had a somewhat evil smirk on his face. Hinata's eyes widened a little. "You want me to… join Akatsuki?" she repeated.

-:- sudden dramatic cut-off for chapter 1 -:-

Okay, before you kill me…

Nah, nevermind. I got nothing to say. Go ahead and kill me now.

Azumanga Daioh –Kiyohiko Azuma

Naruto-Masashi Kishimoto

Kingdom Hearts –Square Enix and Disney

Akatsuki –Naruto-Masashi Kishimoto

Pokemon –Whoever created Pokemon

Sailor Moon –GOD. –ahem, whomever created Sailor Moon-

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Ahem, the "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM" quote) -Whoever made TTGL

(EDIT: fixed a few paragraphing mistakes and... a few words too. :D)

P.S: If you're yelling at me, "THEWINDALCHEMSIT!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WRITING ANOTHER STORY!? GO UPDATE FAIRY TALE AND HURT, FOR GOD'S SAKE!!" Then you have every right to. I just... couldn't resist putting this up XD This is like... letting out the ideas from my mind so that I can write for my other two Hiatus-ridden stories. Just like Fairy Tale was an Idea Deposit for Childhood Memories 2... yeah. So sorry. :D?


	2. Orihime

Oh, I forgot to mention… GaaraSVOOTWOMGWTFLOLOOC (Super Very Out Of This World Oh My God What The Fuck Laugh Out Loud Out of Character). If you haven't noticed when he said he played Kingdom Hearts… Not saying there's anything _wrong_ with Kingdom Hearts… I love Kingdom Hearts… Yeah… :D

-:-

"You want me… to join Akatsuki?" Hinata asked. Sasori nodded. "You have beautiful long hair and a cute face. Just what we need in a Cosplay group like ours. The only other girl is the tomboyish type who refuses to wear skirts and dresses… that is, unless it's her favorite character or something…" He explained. "Her name's Konan, right?" Hinata was happy about her knowledge of anime and manga. Sasori nodded. "And the head of this Cosplay organization is Pein."

Deidara lay down on the bed behind Hinata. "But… these names aren't our real names." He sighed, closing his eyes. It was really late into the night. That, or it was very early in the morning, and the three had spent most of the night looking after Hinata. She had a confused look on her face. "Not your real names? Then what _are_ your real names?" she asked. "That, Hinata, is a well kept secret." Sasori pressed a finger to his lips and smiled.

_But my name's already 'Hinata…'_ Hinata smiled a little too. "U-Um… Okay…" There was an awkward silence in the room until Deidara let out a small snore. He had fallen asleep. Hinata looked behind her and blushed a little. This was why her favorite character in Naruto was Deidara: He was hot. And this 'Deidara' was… hot.

"Ah, Hinata-san, you're all red. Are you alright?" Tobi put a hand on her forehead. "I'm fine!" She squeaked, putting both hands over her cheeks. "I-I'm just… tired! Yeah, I'm tired, that's all…" she closed her eyes tightly, lying down on the bed again. Sasori moved off the bed and moved closer to Hinata's face. "Okay, you can sleep here until morning. I'll be in another room if you need me." He said, walking out of the room. Tobi followed him, leaving a sleeping Deidara and a dark red Hinata alone in the same room.

Out of awkwardness, Hinata scooted away from Deidara, watching him carefully. What if he was pretending to sleep, like some people did in some fanfictions she's read before? Whatever he was doing, she wasn't going to take a chance. Despite the same quality of having a love for anime, they were still strangers. And, quite frankly, her parents told her to never talk to strangers. And she had to admit, these people she's met were very… strange. In a good way, of course, but… how often do you see a Cosplay Group named after your favorite villain's organization?

Deidara let out a small moan as he rolled onto his stomach, moving a bit closer to Hinata. She scooted farther away until she was at the very edge of the bed. She stared intently at Deidara's sleeping form and waited for something to happen. _Something's oddly suspicious about the way he moved just now…_ she thought, feeling like a detective. She studied him a little more, up until to the point where she wanted her sketch book so that she could draw him like that.

Hinata noticed something on his left eye. _No way!_ She crawled over to him without thinking and moved his hair out of the way. He had a scope over his left eye, just like the real Deidara had. _That's so awesome!_ She smiled widely, trying to find a way to remove the scope; she knew that there was no way that the scope was real. She found a small 'push' button at the bottom of the scope and pressed it. The scope came right off and popped onto Hinata's hand. She gasped a bit, then held her breath to check if she woke him up.

Then, holding back giggles, she put the scope over her left eye and grinned. She looked around the room for a mirror, slowly moving off the bed and walking towards it. When she got there, she examined the scope, admiring the incredible detail. "Do these buttons do something…?" she murmured, pressing random buttons. One button put it into picture mode, where if you pressed the button again it took a picture. Another button played some sort of music; Hinata quickly scrambled to turn it off. A third button put it into camcorder mode, but Hinata didn't notice. "Hm… This one doesn't seem to do anything…" she muttered to herself, turning around to go back to the bed.

"…Are you the one with my scope…?" Deidara asked sleepily, suddenly standing right in front of her. She turned red and backed away a bit, only to bump into the wall. Deidara reached down to touch her cheek, his hand caressing her face with his fingertips until he found the scope over her eye. He swiftly removed the scope and put it over his eye, poking the buttons a few times to see what she did. Smirking, he leaned down close to her face. "…Were you playing with this?" he asked.

Hesitantly, Hinata nodded. Deidara's hand moved to her face again, brushing away a stray strand of hair. Hinata turned redder and redder, closing her eyes tight. _H-He's too close! Too close for a stranger to get to me!_ She thought. His warm breath was combining with the heat from her cheeks. Then, suddenly, it was gone. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw that Deidara was groggily walking back to the bed, scratching the back of his head.

"U-U-Um…!" she stuttered, bringing her hands to her face. Deidara glanced at her from the bed. "Sorry, are you sleepy? You can have the bed if you want." He said. Hinata furiously shook her head. "Oh, you want to share then? This bed was only meant for one, but I think we can work something out." He said, sitting up. Shyly, Hinata walked closer until she was at the edge of the bed, farthest away from him. Deidara smiled a little. She was acting really cute right now. He held out a hand to her. "Come on, we can't share a bed if you're not even in it." He chuckled a bit.

Hinata took his hand and immediately she was pulled on top of him. "Kyaah! W-Wait! U-Um, I'm too heavy! Y-You can't…" She tried rolling off, but Deidara held her around the waist. "You're not heavy at all." He said, relaxing on the pillow under his head. They shared an almost comfortable silence. "I know that this is awfully weird for a complete stranger to be doing this." He said empathetically. Hinata nodded, feeling the smoothness of his shirt on her cheek. "But you gotta sleep. And you make a lovely blanket."

Hinata tried to hold back another layer of red on her cheeks. "Please consider joining the group, Hinata." He said suddenly. Hinata stayed completely still at the statement until she felt him fall asleep. When she made sure that he was, she began to sleep as well.

--

"Ah, I forgot that Deidara was still in the room with Hinata." Sasori said in the living room. Tobi's head snapped up from his little nap on the chair. "Uh-oh. Should we go get him?" he asked. Sasori shook his head. "Nah. He'll behave himself."

-:- Morning -:-

Hinata woke up, an almost annoyed feeling in her mind. She slowly took the scope on Deidara's eye and put it over her own and grimaced. _…I knew it._ He had taken pictures of her in her sleep. She heard the small snapshots while she was still trying to fall asleep. She sighed. _Well… at least he didn't take off my clothes and take pictures of me naked…_ she thought.

Deidara suddenly rolled on the bed, moving on top of her. "Ah!" She felt his arm tighten around her, pinning her arms to her body. He let out a low groan before cuddling his face closer to hers. Hinata turned red, awkwardly putting an arm on his side. "D-Deidara-san…" She whispered. He didn't even flinch. "Deidara-san." She said a little louder. A soft groan was heard, but no sign of waking up. Sighing, she relaxed and decided to just wait until he actually woke up.

However, the clock was getting terribly close to the time school started. Hinata started squirming; her arms felt a little numb. She felt a rush of relief when the door opened and Sasori came into view. "Hey. Morning." He whispered. Hinata gave him a look that read, 'Help me, please!'. Nodding, Sasori walked over to her, prying Deidara's arm off of her and helped her stand up. "I'm sorry that you didn't get to change before you slept." He apologized, leading her to the bathroom. Hinata shook her head. "You made up for it when you helped me out back there." She said, panting slightly.

Sasori smiled. "But I do, however, have a change of clothes for you here." Hinata sighed in relief. "Really? Is it a school uniform, because I really ought to get going." She said, hoping that she didn't sound impatient. Sasori's smile grew wider. "Well, I looked at your uniform while you were asleep and decided that the colors and style were similar to the ones in Bleach." Hinata nodded, knowing that by 'Bleach' he meant the series by Tite Kubo. And thanks to that, she knew what the uniforms looked like. "But… there's one big difference… the school's crest on the chest is different." She pointed out.

"Not to worry…" Sasori walked over to a small closet and opened it, revealing many school uniforms. "I made a patch with your school's logo on it. I hope that'll be enough, I only had to pull an all-nighter to make it." He made all-nighters sound like a couple of hours with his calm and collected voice. Hinata started to worry for him. "I-I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble, Sasori-san! U-Um…" she looked to the ground and played with her fingers shyly and glanced at the bathroom.

"I-I don't mean to intrude but… C-Can I use the…" She stuttered. Sasori chuckled, ruffling her head. "Of course you can. Go ahead, use Deidara's shampoo. It has his name on it." He gently pushed her in the direction of the bathroom. "Ah… TH-Thank you so much!" She said as she rushed into the bathroom.

When she finished, she suddenly felt self-conscious about how she looked. It's not that it felt bad to wear a Bleach School Uniform, it's just that it was weird wearing it in public and worse- at school. "Well? 

How does it look?" Sasori asked, pulling her out of the bathroom. "W-Wait, Sasori-san! I don't think I put it on right!" Hinata squeaked, leaning against the wall when she was out of the bathroom. Sasori's eyes widened a bit. "Ah, Hinata… you look adorable!" he said, holding her arm out so that he could get a better look at her in costume.

"Tell me, is this your first time cosplaying?" he asked her, studying her figure intensely. Hinata blushed under his gaze. "Y-Yes… Why? Does it look bad?" she asked shyly, playing with the hem of her skirt. Sasori pulled a corner of the skirt to make it even. "There we go. Alright, you're ready to go now- oh, wait." He moved to a drawer and pulled out two hair clips. "Put these on. You know where they go." He said.

Hinata looked at the clips for a minute. "Oh! These are Orihime-san's! That's so cool that you have these!" She said happily, putting the clips on both sides of her hair. "Beautiful." Sasori said. "Now if only your hair were orange…" Hinata shook her head. "I'm fine. I'll be going to school now –I'll be back to return the costume, if you don't mind."

Hinata was about to leave out the front door, but she heard someone call her name. Or, rather, her character's name.

"Orihime."

She turned around and smiled when she saw Deidara standing at the doorway of the bedroom they were sleeping in. "See you later." He said, winking at her. She turned red for a second then laughed. "Y-Yeah!" she skipped out the door and hurried down the sidewalk.

-:-

"Hinata! Are you alri…ght…" Gaara turned red when he saw Hinata walking down the street. He covered half of his face to hide the red. "Gaara! Gaara, you won't believe what I've just been through!" Hinata said happily, linking arms with his and walking towards the school. "Wh-What? Why are you wearing a Bleach school uniform?" he asked, trying his best not to blush. This was his first time seeing Hinata Cosplay, and it looked… great. She smiled at him. She was about to tell him the whole story, but the bell started to ring.

"Oh… I'll tell you later –at lunch!" Hinata let go of his arm and walked into the school. Gaara stared after her until the doors to the school closed. He was an extremely dark red, his bag hanging loosely in his hand. It slipped out of his grip and fell to the floor, slapping Gaara back to reality. "…O-Orihime…" he said under his breath, hurrying into the school when he heard the bell ring.

At lunch, Hinata looked even more excited than ever.

"Gaara! Over here!" she called, waving to him from their usual seating spot at lunch. Still trying to get over the fact that she was cosplaying –and the fact that nobody has noticed yet- Gaara walked over, trying his best to look natural. Hinata smiled widely at him, taking a small bite out of her lunch and then starting her story.

"Okay. So I'm walking home from your house, right?" she started, Gaara nodding to her. He used the nod as an excuse to look over her outfit again. "Okay, so this guy bumped into me, and I hit my head on a pole –don't worry, it doesn't hurt as much as it did before- and I think he took me back to his place or something, and-" She paused to take a breath. "And when I woke up, there was a guy who looked _exactly_ like Deidara –yes, _that_ Deidara- and another two guys who looked like Tobi and Sasori! I was so freaked out and then they said that I could sleep the night at their house and then…"

Gaara was still processing the information she gave him the first few seconds of her story. He nodded anyway.

"And then he got _so close to my face_! My heart never beat so fast in my life! I thought it was going to stop right there! And then he went back to the bed and I wanted to sleep too, but he was already sleeping there and…" Hinata turned red. "So… he pulled me onto the bed and we just… went to sleep. We didn't do anything, I swear! So we just slept in the same bed and the next morning, he hugged me tightly and it felt so warm and…" She stopped herself to look at Gaara for a moment.

He had a scrunched up look, almost like he was jealous or something. "Gaara… did you want to meet them too?" Hinata asked innocently, leaning over to observe his face. He turned a bit red. _No… he _hugged_ you… Nobody except me should have to… and in bed too…_ "Y-Yeah… That's it…" he cursed himself for being so shy about his feelings. Turning away, he wiped the blush away and looked at her again, telling her to continue her story.

"Alright… so Sasori came in and saved me from his tight hug," Gaara's stomach twisted in a sick knot. "And he gave me a change of clothes –he figured from the uniform that it looked most like Orihime from bleach, and gave me the uniform! And just to complete the look, he gave me the two clips for me to wear. He was so nice!"Gaara's hands clenched into fists and he bit his lip. "And now I'm here, telling you the whole story!" She giggled.

"…Look at him. I can't believe Hinata hasn't noticed that he likes her yet." Kankurou commented from the table he was sitting at. Temari nodded. "She is so oblivious sometimes." She still had a fork in her mouth, so she made her comment short and simple. "But that's what makes those two so cute together." She laughed a little. Kankurou nodded. "Now it's _you_ we have a problem with. Lose some goddamn weight! Your own _mother _wouldn't date you!" Temari teased. "Hey! I'm working on it, okay?"

_Stay cool, Gaara. Don't get mad. Just say something nice and forget about the whole thing._ Little did he know that he was biting his lip so hard it was almost bleeding.

"Oh no! Gaara, your lip is bleeding!" Hinata leaned over and wiped the blood away from his mouth. Gaara turned so dark that he was now the school's heat generator. _She's close… too close…!_ Then, Gaara did something totally unexpected; he fell over backwards and fainted. "Gaara? G-Gaara!" Hinata called his name. _What a hurt to my pride…_ was his last thought before completely blacking out.

"Ah. He fainted." Temari said.

--

Gaara found himself in the nurse's office when he woke up. "Guh… what time is it…?" He murmured, looking around for a clock. His eyes settled on Hinata, who was looking worriedly at him. "Are you okay? How is your lip feeling? It's almost 2…" She asked many other questions, but Gaara wasn't listening.

He looked at her with a soft look that she noticed a little bit after her last question. She returned the look with a smile. "…Are you alright?" She asked, holding his hand. Gaara thought a moment, studying his hand in hers. _I feel that this would be the perfect time to confess to her…_ he blinked. _…but I think that it would be better if I just said…_ "I'm fine, thanks for staying here with me." Without thinking, he brought her hand up and kissed it lightly.

_Ah…_ Gaara's eyes widened slightly at what he just did. He glanced up at Hinata, who had her other hand to her face. She was trying to control the huge blush what was creeping onto her cheeks. _…Maybe… might as well continue._ Gently, he moved her hand away from her face and leaned closer. Both closed their eyes, leaning closer until…

"Oh snap, he's really going to kiss her!" Kankurou said a little too loudly from the door. They heard Temari elbow him in the gut, hissing at him for giving away their position. Hinata blushed. "U-Um…" She stuttered. Gaara let out a low growl, muttering a short 'sorry' and moving towards the door. He was pissed. "What the _hell_ did you do that for!?" he yelled at them. "S-Sorry! We didn't mean to be so loud!" Kankurou apologized.

Gaara's hand formed into a fist, holding it up to punch him. But he stopped when the fist was about an inch to Kankurou's face. He heard a soft voice call his name. "U-Um… Gaara… i-if you're feeling… b-better now… w-we can go back t-to class…" Hinata was standing a few feet behind him, playing with her fingers and looking to the ground. "W-Well… I mean… I-If you're not too… busy…" Sighing, Gaara lowered his fist. "Yeah. Let's get back to class." He said.

He glared at his two older siblings as they walked down the hall to their own classes. Then he and Hinata started down the hallway. They stayed silent most of the way, both their faces some shade of red. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. Soon their different classrooms came into view. Gaara turned to her and opened his mouth to say something, but he felt her hand slip into his. She smiled at him and squeezed it gently before letting go. Then she walked to her next class, which was across the hall from his.

It was a strange action, especially for her. But he stared after her until the door to the classroom closed. "Will you be joining us, Gaara-san?" The teacher asked from the door. Gaara turned to him and nodded, walking into the classroom.

-:-

"…School… I wonder what it's like to be in a proper one, hm?" Deidara was lying on the couch, resting his head on the armrest. "Hn. Hey, try this on; I don't know if I got it right for your size." Sasori carelessly threw a costume in Deidara's direction. He struggled to his feet and then held out the costume in front of him. "…Who'm I going to the shoot as again?" he asked, looking at Sasori. "Viral. From Gurren 

Lagann, remember?" Deidara blew a piece of stray hair from his face. Well, the showing half, anyway. "But I cosplayed as him at the shoot before last time." He whined.

"Well, this shoot isn't the one before last time, now is it?" Sasori said indifferently, working on the costume for Simon. "So hurry up and see if I got it right." He told him. "Fine…" Deidara sighed. "Oh, Time-Skip version? I didn't know that." He commented. "Yeah. I'm Simon, Time-Skip version." Deidara snorted. "You gonna wear that star thing? Hilarious." He slung the raggedy scarf around his neck and looked in the mirror. "Looks fine, by the way." He muttered. Sasori nodded.

"Hey, you think Hinata's gonna come back?" Deidara asked curiously. "Yeah, she said she'd come back to return the costume, didn't she? Maybe we'll try to get her final answer then." Sasori answered, holding up the costume. "Oh, maybe we could dress her up as Yoko." Deidara suggested, turning pink at the thought. Yoko wore almost nothing except a skimpy bra and short shorts. And a white scarf, but it didn't really cover anything. Sasori turned a bit red too.

Snapping out of their fantasy, they glanced at each other. "Since she has dark hair, she should be Kiyal. You know, one of Kittan's sisters." Sasori said. "Hm. Either way, we get a better look at her figure, hm?" Deidara snickered. "Shut up with your weird fantasies! I really want her to join the group and I don't need you to ruin it!" Sasori yelled. "Aww come on. I wanna ask her out. It's rare to see a girl anime fan around here." Deidara fixed his hair to look like Viral's.

"You? Go out with Hinata? What if she has a boyfriend?" Sasori asked. "That's not likely. She's never been kissed before." Deidara said. "How do you know that?" Sasori gave him a weird look. "She's too innocent-looking to have a boyfriend. Making it all the more easier to ask her out." Deidara figured. "…You're weird."

"What time's the shoot?" Deidara asked suddenly. "5. Kakuzu said that the lighting's better at the place we're going to at five." Sasori said. Deidara stared at himself in the mirror. "…Does this make me look fat?" he asked jokingly. "Har har. Shut up and help me find Simon's star glass… thing." Sasori looked through drawers and shelves, coming up with nothing. "Oh come on, it took me two hours just to get the outline of that thing! Where is it?" he groaned, sitting on the couch. There was a loud cracking sound.

"…"

"…"

Sasori lifted the cushion of the couch and grimaced when he found the glass star crushed. "Shit." He muttered, picking up the broken pieces. "Hey, at least it wasn't _extremely _broken." Deidara said, trying to look on the bright side. "Ugh… I really hate life right now…" Sasori carefully laid the pieces on the coffee table, sitting on the floor to get a better look at it. "Lessee if I can glue these pieces back together…" he muttered to himself.

"Don't, it'll look worse. Just buy another one from online." Deidara said. "Deidara, we _make_ the things they sell online. We're on our own here unless some miracle finds our spare glass star… thing." Sasori responded.

-:-

Hinata and Gaara met at the gates of the school. "U-Um… Gaara, do you want to meet those people I was talking about earlier today?" She asked, small hints of shyness in her voice. "Um… Yeah. I guess. But don't you need to go back to your house first?" _That guy who hugged her in bed is there, right? I'll try to get her away from them for now. Plus, I don't want her to get in trouble for staying away from home too long._

Hinata nodded. "Right… I came to school straight from the place where they took me… Alright." She said, smiling at him. "I'll walk with you this time." Gaara offered. "Oh, you don't need to…" Gaara took her hand. "No, I want to protect you. Okay?" he had a small smile on his face. Hinata turned a light pink. "Ah… O-Okay." The two held hands as they walked. "Thanks, Gaara." She said. He squeezed her hand gently. "…Yeah."

They walked in silence most of the way. As they neared Hinata's house, however, Gaara decided to clear something up. "Hinata. That thing I did… you know, when I was in the nurse's office?" he started. Hinata looked up at him attentively. "When you almost kissed me? Yeah." She said it like nothing happened. Gaara took a small breath. "Well… I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to just… Uh…" he didn't know what else to say. Hinata smiled. "Wh-What I mean is… I didn't want… our first kiss… to be like that…"

"'_Our_ first kiss'?" she laughed at his dark red face. "D-Don't embarrass me like that!" Gaara said, slightly annoyed. "What I meant was that… Well… It's like… Well, uh… I'd feel better if… I was your first kiss… so that I'm sure that you won't get hurt…" They were now walking into Hinata's front yard and towards the door. Hinata went on her toes and kissed Gaara on the cheek. "Thanks for walking me home." She said, smiling at him. Gaara moved his other hand to touch his cheek. "Ah… N-No problem…" he said dazedly. Hinata let out a small giggle, walking into the house.

"Bye. I'll call you later when I go back to return this costume, okay?" Gaara nodded. "Yeah…"

After Hinata explained the whole story (minus the whole 'Deidara hugging her in bed' thing) to her parents and Neji, she asked if she could go back to return the Akatsuki to return her costume. Surprisingly, they let her go, but not without asking, "Who's going to be your bodyguard?" Hinata laughed when Neji immediately offered.

"I-I'm going to ask Gaara to come with me. He wants to meet them, too, so…" Neji frowned. "Wasn't he the one who didn't protect you before?" he asked. Hinata held up her arms defensively. "N-No, It's not a kidnapping! They just wanted to help me because I was hurt and…" She trailed off. "Anyway, Gaara was really sorry that the whole thing happened, so he said he'd come." Hiashi thought a moment, then nodded. "Okay. But make sure that you come back safely, alright?" he said strictly. Hinata nodded. "I will."

Hinata went up to her room to change. She kept the two hair clips on so that she would be sure not to lose them and called Gaara. "_What took you so long to call?_" he asked. "Sorry, dad and Neji asked a lot of questions." She answered. "_Well god, I wanted to ask you a bunch of questions too._" Gaara said. "_But I don't want you to repeat yourself, so I won't._" Hinata smiled. "Alright. So I'm about to go to the Akatsuki place. I'll mee-"

"_I'll be right there to pick you up. In fact, I'm walking to your house right now, so I'll see you in a few minutes._" If she concentrated, she could hear the traffic on his street. "Okay. See you later." Hinata hung up her cell phone and put it in her pocket. She walked down the stairs and put on her jacket. "Bye, I'm leaving now." She called. "Come back before dinner, okay?" Her mother called back. "Yeah, okay."

When she opened the door, Gaara was already there, waiting. He was breathing heavily, so she guessed that he ran. "let's… Let's get going…" he panted, leaning on the wall. "Jeez, you didn't have to run. I could've walked to you on the way." Hinata said, making him sit on the stairs. "I'll be right back with a glass of water. Then we'll go, okay?" she went back in the house and came back with water. Gaara immediately gulped it down and sighed when he finished, putting the cup down on the ground. "Thank you." He said under his breath.

Hinata put the cup down by the door and walked down the stairs. "Feeling ready to walk again? Come on." She smiled at him and took his hand. Gaara waited a second, took a deep breath, then stood up. "Okay." As they walked, Hinata told him all she knew about the Akatsuki Cosplay Group. Gaara just listened and nodded.

Hinata led him down a small alley and then made a right, revealing a small front yard for a small building. On the door it read "Akatsuki" with the signature cloud under it. Hinata happily opened the gate and walked through their front yard. "Hey, what's that shiny thing?" Gaara asked, pointing to the red star-shaped glass on the ground. Hinata walked over and picked it up. "Hey… it looks a lot like Simon's head gear in the Time-Skip." She said, brushing off some dirt from its top. "Gurren Lagann, right?" Gaara said. Hinata nodded. "_Tengen Toppa_ Gurren Lagann." She corrected. "Whatever."

Hinata walked up to the door and knocked on it. It was about four o'clock right now, so she expected them all to be there. They heard shuffling sounds and yelling. A sudden crashing sound was heard as well, along with more yelling.

"DEIDARA! Get the door already!"

"Yeah, Yeah! I am!"

"Hinata, did that one guy say 'Deidara'?" Gaara asked. Hinata nodded, smiling. The door swung open, revealing a very disheveled looking Deidara. He smiled widely when he saw Hinata. "Hinata! Hey, what's up?" he asked fondly. He saw Gaara and gave him a confused look. "Who's the dude?" he asked. Hinata arms with him. "This is Gaara, my best friend." She introduced. Deidara almost frowned. "Are you two going out?" he asked. Hinata turned red. "No, we're just really good friends, that's all." She assured, laughing nervously. "I see…"

"Oh, is that Hinata? –gasp!- Hey! That's Simon's glass star!" Sasori, from across the room, jumped over the total mess in between him and the door and stood in front of them, wearing Simon's costume. This time his hair was dyed blue. "Hinata, where'd you find it?" he asked happily. Hinata stared at him, amazed at his costume. "Sasori-san… That's amazing!" she said happily.

Sasori looked confused for a minute, adjusting the star headpiece. "Ah, you mean the costume. Thanks." He laughed a bit before noticing Gaara standing there. "A friend of yours, Hinata?" Sasori asked. Gaara nodded to him. "Yes. His name's Gaara." Sasori smiled at him. "All you need is the tattoo to look like the Gaara from Naruto." He laughed. "I know." Gaara didn't exactly trust these guys. But the costumes were cool.

There was an awkward silence. "Oh, what are we doing talking here at the door? Come inside, you two." Sasori said, moving out of the way for Hinata and Gaara to walk in. Gaara carefully studied the place as he followed Hinata to the couch. "Are you two thirsty? I'm sorry that all we have is soda and milk…" Sasori walked over to the kitchen. In a short chain of events, Hinata ended up sitting in between Gaara and Deidara on the couch. It looks like Gaara and Deidara knew that they were rivals from the second their eyes met and were currently glaring at each other.

Hinata sensed some negative energy in the room, but didn't really dwell on it too long. Sasori returned a few minutes later, handing Gaara and Hinata a can of coke. He threw a Pepsi at Deidara. "Sorry. We ran out of Coke." Sasori said, sitting on the couch across from them. "Aw man…" Deidara looked disappointedly at the can of Pepsi. "Coke is _so_ much better." He said.

Hinata glanced at him and then the coke in her hands. "U-Um… If you want Coke… you can have mine…" She offered. Deidara gave her a confused look and then smiled. "Oh, thank you, Hinata!" He happily accepted the coke, giving her the Pepsi.

Suddenly, Gaara traded her Pepsi for his Coke. "You're too nice. I know you like coke better." He muttered. Deidara reached over and traded his Coke for the Pepsi. "You know, I don't really mind Pepsi if it'll end up in _his_ hands." He said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "He touched this. Hinata, can we trade Coke cans?" Gaara said, reaching for the Coke in Hinata's hands. "Ah… Okay." Deidara let out a low grunt.

Sasori just watched, a confused look on his face. "Uh… Guys?" he said. Neither Deidara or Gaara heard him. Only Hinata did, but she couldn't really respond, what with all the trading of soda.

Now, somehow, Hinata ended up with the Pepsi. "Um…" She started. Deidara and Gaara were glaring at each other more intensely, hints of lightning in between. "On second thought! I'm not thirsty!" Deidara and Gaara slammed the coke on the table angrily, letting out aggravated sighs as they leaned on their clenched fists on the armrest. "Uh… Okay. That's fine." Sasori said, chuckling a bit.

Hinata cleared her throat. "Sasori-san… I'm here to return the costume you let me borrow. Thank you very much…" Hinata bowed slightly, pushing the costume (which was in a bag) towards him. Sasori smiled at her. "…Are you forgetting something?" he asked, amused. Hinata looked at him with a 

confused look (a lot of confusion today, huh?) and turned red from embarrassment. "Oh! The hair clips! I-I'm sorry, I'll take them off!" she scrambled to take them off and hand them to him. Sasori laughed, happily taking them. "You're very welcome. By the way, have you thought about joining the group yet?" he asked.

Gaara looked surprised. "What?" he asked. "Well… Sasori-san asked me to join the Cosplay Group." Hinata explained. "Yes." Sasori nodded. "Why her?" Gaara asked again. "Well… look at her. She has beautiful dark and long hair, she's _incredibly_ cute, and her personality is perfect. And plus, she's a girl who loves anime. Which is pretty rare in this part of Japan." Gaara nodded slowly. "Oh, and if you want, you can join too. We need another person with the same kind of hair-style as mine."

Gaara stood up. "…I'll think about it." He said. Hinata stood up as well. "Um… I guess it's time for us to be going then." She said. Sasori and Deidara followed them to the door. "Thanks again for the costume. I'll be back again soon. I really do want to join, but I don't know if-" Suddenly, a hand covered Hinata's eyes and pulled her back down the walk out of the Akatsuki front yard. "G-Gaara! What are you-" She tried to look back at Deidara and Sasori to say good-bye, but Gaara kept walking.

"We're leaving." Gaara muttered, glaring at Deidara. "Ah! Um… I-I'll see you later, Sasori-san, Deidara-san! B-Bye!" Hinata gave one last wave to them before being pulled back down the alley and out of sight.

"… Sasori… what just happened?" Deidara asked. "…I don't really know." Sasori responded, walking back into the house/building/shack/clubhouse/base.

-:-

Yes, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

Yes, Sasori's hair is dyed BLUE.

No, Gaara doesn't have the tattoo on his forehead.

No, Hinata's totally clueless as to how Gaara and Deidara feel about her.

Yes, you should watch the anime Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.

No, I don't Cosplay as much so I'm just making things up about that as I go.

Yes, I like Coke better than Pepsi. What do you think? Coke or Pepsi?

No, you don't have to answer… I'm just curious. JFM DALV;MC,.JMDLZ;CX,!!

P.S: DOUBLE K (on deviantART by captainosaka) IS FLIPPIN HERE!! CHECK IT OUT!!


	3. I HATE THIS GUY!

Anybody hear of the site called Hell Correspondence?

Yeah, the site that you can only access at midnight?

Uh-huh. You write in the name of someone you hate and it sends them to hell!

(TheWindAlchemist just recently got into the manga called "Hell Girl". And she loves it.)

-:-

It was amazing that Hinata hadn't fallen down on her butt already. Gaara had pulled her the way he did all the way to the end of the alley and stopped when they reached the sidewalk. The second he let go, Hinata yelled, "What the heck was that for!?" she looked angry. Gaara sighed. "As much as we love the Akatsuki from Naruto, I don't want you hanging out with them. Or, specifically, that Deidara guy." He explained calmly.

Hinata scoffed. "Deidara-san's a good person. You're just overprotective of me, Gaara." She said. Gaara had an unsure look on his face. _Well can you blame me?_ He took her hand and started walking her home. "Hey, don't ignore me like that!" Hinata said, following him. "Hinata… You'd tell me if you joined them, right?" he asked suddenly. "…Of course I would. You're my best friend, Gaara! I can tell you anything!" She smiled at him. "Hn." Gaara looked p absent-mindedly, letting Hinata guide him down the sidewalk for a few seconds.

"Why do you ask?" Hinata swayed from side to side casually, patiently waiting for an answer. "…Well… I want to join them, too." _I don't trust those guys one bit. _Gaara made it his solemn duty to protect Hinata from whatever it was that she needed protecting from. And to him, The Akatsuki was one of those things.

Soon, they began to near Hinata's house. "I wonder if they started dinner yet…" Hinata wondered aloud. Just then Gaara's stomach began to grumble. Hinata giggled. "Hungry?" she asked. Gaara nodded, turning a light pink. "I'll ask if you can stay for dinner, okay?" Hinata had him wait outside the front door as she went into the house. She came back a minute later and said that he could. "Oh. Thanks a lot!" He said, following her into the house.

"Gaara! Hello! I haven't seen you in so long! Tell me, how are you and your brother and sister?" Hinata's mother walked over and hugged Gaara. "Hi Mrs. Hyuga…" he muttered, making Hinata laugh. "Oh, well, come on. Dinner's starting!" Mrs. Hyuga walked into the kitchen, happily taking a seat beside Hiashi, who eyed Gaara with a suspicious look until he sat down. Gaara noticed this, but pretended that he didn't.

"So, Gaara, how is your father?" Hiashi asked as the family started eating. "I don't know… He's never really home, so…" he trailed off. "I see. How about your brother or sister?" Gaara shrugged. "They're fine, I guess." There was an awkward silence. All attempts to start a conversation were abandoned, and dinner ended silently.

Gaara slowly stood up from the table. "Thank you very much for the meal." He said formally. Hinata stood up as well and walked him to the door. "Hinata, thanks for letting me eat here." He said as he opened the door. "No problem." Hinata smiled at him, leaning on the doorframe. Gaara smiled back. "I gotta say, things got pretty awkward after a while." They both laughed at that. "Yeah." Hinata agreed.

Gaara started down the stairs and onto the trail leading to the sidewalk, but he turned around. Hinata looked confused for a second. He walked back up to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then walked away, leaving the two of them a light pink color.

"_Ooh_, Hinata!" Hanabi, her little sister, said from behind her. "Hanabi! Get out of here!" Hinata yelled, embarrassed.

-:-

"Ugh… I can't believe we stayed out this long… We got so many weird looks from the people at the park…" Deidara loosened the scarf around his neck and let it slide to the floor.

"You think you feel bad? My hair was blue. BLUE! I got more people looking at me than any one of you!" Sasori said, gently placing the glass star on the table and plopping down on the couch.

"We got a lot of pictures taken… the scenery looked nice, too." A guy with a face mask over his mouth said, walking to the computer to load the pictures out of the camera.

"Kakuzu, aren't you ever tired of seeing constant flashes of light in your life? I'm surprised that haven't you gotten a seizure yet!" Another person with silver hair combed back muttered. "Well I'm surprised you haven't chopped off an ear with those hair-styling scissors of yours!" Kakuzu retorted, waiting for the pictures to show up on the screen.

"Will you two quit fighting? It's too late for you two to be yelling…" A person wearing a white uniform and a tight ponytail opened his jacket and sat lazily on the couch.

"Itachi, scoot over. I wanna sit down too." A person wearing a black sleeveless shirt said. "Kisame, there's a buncha other places to sit down! Leave me alone!" Itachi groaned, rubbing the place between his eyes. "But I like sitting on the edge of the couch!" Kisame argued, grumbling as he took a seat in the middle of the couch.

"Will you all shut up? I'm tired, hungry, and I'm going to bed…" The leader of the Akatsuki Group, Pein, stomped straight to his room. Konan, his girlfriend appeared at the door. She was dressed as Yoko, but no one dared to make a fantasy of a woman who was already taken. Konan took off the wig and carelessly tossed it onto the table, running her hands through her hair to cool off. "Where'd Pein go?" she asked. "He went to bed already." Sasori answered.

"Oh. Okay. Those of you who actually have a life other than this can go home now, if you like." Oh, she was mocking them. "…We _all_ live here." Hidan said. Konan laughed. "That's right, none of us have any lives. That's why we're here." She said.

Deidara stood up proudly. "_Well_, I am currently trying to get a girlfriend." He declared. Everyone gasped dramatically.

"A girlfriend?"

"Impossible!"

"Deidara can't get a girlfriend to save his life."

Deidara huffed at that last comment from Hidan. "Well, she said that she'd be back to visit someday, so then I'll show you my awesome skills at dating!" he yelled. "Keep telling yourself that, Deidara." Everyone except for Sasori went to their rooms to sleep. "You believe me, right? You saw Hinata yourself –you saw how interested I was in her!" Deidara told him. Sasori nodded. "I believe that you like her. Not that you'd actually get her."

Sasori laughed at his pissed-off look. "I'm kidding. I just think that you'd have to get through her friend first." He said. Deidara crossed his arm in thought. "…This is true. That brat is getting in my way!" he exclaimed angrily. After a minute of peaceful silence, Deidara pointed a finger into the air. "I know! Whenever she comes over I'll just make her sit on my lap! That'll be sure to get him jealous. And when me and Hinata become closer friends, I'll start doing _this_ and _that_ and _this, too_…"

"You're evil." Sasori commented. "Yeah!"

-:-

_**Gaara has signed in**_

_**Hina-chan has signed in**_

_Hina-chan: Hey! I'm planning to go back to the Akatsuki again. Do you want to come?_

_Gaara: Ugh. Going back to those guys again?_

_Hina-chan: Well… Actually, Sasori called me not too long ago and_

_Gaara: What? How'd he get ur number?_

_Hina-chan: He said it dropped out of my bag when I stayed at their place overnight. _

_Gaara: … you gotta be more careful about this stuff, Hina._

_Hina-chan: …sorry…_

_Gaara: No, I just worry about you, is all_

_Hina-chan: Aww Thanks! :)_

_Gaara: puh-leez lol_

_Hina-chan: lol_

_Gaara: So what time are you gonna leave? I'll pick you up again like last time_

_Hina-chan: Well… I was hoping that I could just meet you at your house instead. I mean, we live pretty far apart._

_Gaara: 15 min isn't that long_

_Hina-chan: But still…_

_Gaara: You know what, I'll just come over right now_

_Hina-chan: Wait a sec!_

_**Gaara has signed out**_

Hinata leaned back on the chair and sighed. "I don't want you to trouble yourself like that, though…" she said to herself. She began to turn off the computer and change into different clothes. It was a Saturday, so she could spend the day how she wanted. A few days ago, she asked her father if she could join an anime Cosplay group, and surprisingly he said yes.

"As long as you're back by nine every night. If not, I won't hesitate to call the police. Okay?" the strange thing was that he smiled while saying that.

Looking out the window, she saw how nice a day it was. "I better get going…" she said aloud, standing up and stretching. She put on her jacket and gathered her cell phone, mini sketch book, and her iPod into a Fruits Basket Kyo-kun (cat form) bag. She slung it around her shoulder and began walking out the front door.

"Bye! I have my cell phone if you guys need me!" she called. "Oh, dear, do you have a lunch?" Her mother asked. Hinata nodded. "I got it taken care of." She said, smiling. "Okay, have fun dear!" she leaned closer to whisper in her ear. "Get a good-looking boyfriend, too, if you can. If not, Gaara's just as good." She laughed a little. "Mom!" Hinata cried, turning a bit red. "I'm just _kidding, _my dear. Kidding." Mother gently pushed Hinata out the door. "I'll see you later." She said, laughing.

Hinata hurriedly walked down the sidewalk, a few hints of a blush still on her cheeks. She bumped into someone and looked up. "Gaara!" she exclaimed happily. "Hey." He said. Together they walked on the sidewalk, holding hands. They've been doing that a lot lately.

"I can't believe I woke up this early on a Saturday!" Hinata laughed. It was almost 10. Gaara let out a small chuckle. "Me too." They shared another silence. To tell the truth, Gaara was thinking intensely on something. They almost always held hands now, and that was fine, but… their fingers never interlaced like real couples do. _But I guess you can't really call us an actual couple…_ He scratched his head in confusion. _But there's no mistaking that we do have something… special…_ He glanced at Hinata. _… But what if she doesn't feel the same?_

A sudden disappointed feeling came over him. His shoulders slumped slightly and his eyes were downcast to the ground. Hinata noticed this and asked, "Are you okay?" Gaara looked at her and turned a bit red. _I want a hug._ How cute. "C…C-Can I h-have a… hug?" he asked, looking away. Hinata's confused look turned into a happy one. "Of course you can!" Hinata wrapped her arms around him tightly, laughing a bit. Gaara hugged her back, a very happy feeling running over him. They've hugged before, but this time felt… different.

When they separated, Gaara smiled at her. "Thanks." Hinata giggled, holding his hand again. "No problem!" They were nearing the Akatsuki … I'll call it base for simplicity's sake. They were getting closer to the Akatsuki base, so they walked a little faster to save themselves some time. Hinata knocked on the door, both of them waiting patiently for someone to answer.

…to answer.

…TO ANSWER.

…ANSWER THE GODDAMN-

The door opened slowly, a very tired Sasori leaning on the doorframe. His eyes were closed. "Hello?" he said groggily. Hinata went into worry mode. "U-Um, S-Sasori-san?" she carefully placed a hand on his shoulder. Sasori lazily opened one eye. "Hinata?" he stood up a little straighter. "I'm sorry… did we come at a bad time?" Hinata asked worriedly. "We?" Sasori looked at Gaara. "Oh. No, it's fine. We just stayed out very late last night… everyone's still asleep so…" _Good. She can't stay-_ Gaara started, before Sasori started to speak again. "But you two can still come in, since you came all this way." _Dammit._

"Um… Alright… Are you sure? I can always come back some other time." Hinata said. Sasori shook his head and smiled at her. "It's always nice to have a visitor, I guess." He laughed a little, opening the door a little wider to let them in. _Okay… we're here. Now what? _Sasori walked into the kitchen after having them sit down. "You two hungry?" he called. Hinata stood up. "Um… I can cook a little bit. I'm a little hungry for lunch."

Sasori ran towards her suddenly and grabbed her hands. "You… You can cook…?" he asked, staring her right in the eye. "U-Uh… Yes…?" Hinata felt him squeeze her hands tightly. "Please join the group! We _need_ a person like you! I haven't eaten a decent meal in _ages_!" he begged desperately. Hinata gasped softly when he fell to his knees. "O-Okay! Okay, j-just… uh… don't die… I-I'll cook for you guys." She said worriedly, trying to help him get up.

Gaara was looking around the room, mentally naming every costume he saw. He bumped into something and looked up, finding a huge shelf dedicated to manga. Manga, manga, manga. He stared with sparkles(?) in his eyes. Hurriedly, he scanned every series from bottom to top, standing on a nearby chair to read the other series. "Oh my god… no way!" He reached for a book that was a little bigger than the others. It was the Death Note Profiles Book. He jumped down from the chair and plopped down onto the couch, happily reading the book. This would keep him busy for a while.

Hinata was preparing everything she needed to cook her lunch and Sasori's breakfast. He just watched her fondly from the table, humming a happy tune. "Sasori-san… what do you doo when you're not cosplaying?" Hinata asked curiously. Sasori stopped his humming and actually focused on her. "When I'm _not_ cosplaying?" he repeated. Hinata nodded. Sasori thought a moment. "…Well… I don't really know. I prepare the costumes for the next shoot, if that's what you mean." He said.

Hinata shook her head. "I mean… besides anime stuff, what do you do?" she asked. Sasori scratched his head. "Like… What school do you go to?" she asked, trying to make it simpler to think. "I don't go to school." He said. "Why?" Hinata put a lid on the pot filled with water and left it, taking a seat at the table. "Well… the money we get goes to paying the bills. I mean, we have the electric and water and… we each have cell phones…" he trailed off. "What about your parents? Don't they know that their son isn't going to school?" Hinata asked, resting her chin on her arms on the table.

"…Our parents…" Sasori had a distant look in his eye. Hinata sat up straight, looking nervously at him. _…Did I hit a bad spot?_ She patiently waited for an answer, but he didn't say anything until she cleared her throat to catch his attention. "Oh. Sorry about that." Sasori hunched over and rubbed his eyes, then combed his hair back and smiled at her. "Sorry… did I bring up something bad?" Hinata asked worriedly. Sasori stayed silent as he gazed at her. "I'll tell you about it later. Is breakfast almost done?" he asked, changing the subject. Hinata stood up quickly. "Right! Sorry!"

Sasori stood up as well, walking towards the door. "I'm gonna go check if anyone else is awake. Okay?" he looked at Hinata and smiled. "Yeah."

--

Deidara groggily walked to the door, opening it and leaning on the doorframe. "So sleepy…" he muttered making his way to the bathroom. Something red caught his eye and he looked to the living room, seeing Gaara there reading manga. _…That kid…_ he thought, grimacing.

Gaara noticed his staring at him and looked up. He glared at Deidara. "Morning." He growled angrily. "Hm." Deidara grunted, making his way to the bathroom. When he came back, Gaara was still staring at him. "What?" he asked, glaring back. "I just realized how much like a _girl_ you look." Gaara replied, catching a small vase that was suddenly thrown to him. "I just realized how much like an _asshole_ you can be!" he yelled, throwing another random piece of furniture at him.

Gaara stood up and stepped across the room, throwing the Death Note profile book at Deidara, who dodged it. Hey, the book wasn't his anyway. "I don't think Hinata likes total assholes." Deidara said. Gaara gritted his teeth. "I don't think she'd like a girly man as her boyfriend!" he yelled. Shh… There are people sleeping in this house…

When Sasori walked out of the kitchen, he had to dodge a book that was flying his way. He looked in the direction where it came from and saw that Deidara and Gaara were throwing things at each other. "Guys?" Sasori started picking up all the manga books that were being thrown.

"I HATE THIS GUY!!" Gaara and Deidara suddenly yelled, pointing at each other. Hinata poked her head out of the kitchen and said, "Brunch is ready." She didn't notice the tension in the room.

A minute later, the four of them sat at the table, Gaara and Deidara glaring at each other. Sasori and Hinata were staring at the two, amazed at how long the two could stare at each other without blinking. "U-Um… so… H-How are you… Deidara…san…" Hinata tried starting a conversation, but trailed off lamely. Sasori, desperate to try the challenge of a conversation, said, "So, Hinata, are you planning on joining the group?"

Hinata looked at him. He just looked back. "Um… actually… yes, if it's not too much trouble." She laughed a bit, catching the attention of the two rivals. "WHAT!?" Gaara said, surprised. "That's awesome!" Deidara said moving chairs to sit beside her. "Eheh… but I'm afraid I can only come on weekends and after I'm finished with homework… that's what dad says, anyway." Hinata explained, happy that the sudden tension was lifted. "You're dad _let_ you?" Gaara asked in disbelief. Hinata nodded, smiling.

"You're dad's a nut." Gaara sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Okay, those problems are gone. Now the real problem is…" Sasori paused dramatically. The other three leaned in and listened closely. "…How will we be able to… have Hinata's wonderful cooking at least once a day?" There was a moment of silence. Gaara sighed and leaned back onto his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's a stupid questi-"

"I-I'll try to come over for dinner! Um… I-I'm sorry that… I have a life…" Hinata turned red and played with her fingers, looking extremely cute to the three men in the room. "W-Well… I-I could pack dinner and bring it here with me… I just need to know what you guys want first… Though I don't think I can make anything else than what I just did… but it's for the hungry people of…" she muttered to herself and stared down at the table.

"Uh… Hinata, whatever you cook is fine, as long as it's filled with love. Okay?" Deidara patted her back, amazingly holding back a nosebleed. Hinata looked up at him and smiled widely. "Okay!" she giggled a bit and suddenly the three men fell backwards in their chairs. "Ah! Are you guys okay!?"

"…The cuteness… it slays me!" Sasori croaked.

"She's too cute for her own good!" Gaara yelled.

"Haaaahhh…" Deidara groaned.

"I-I'm… sorry?" Hinata glanced at all three of them as they slowly got back up. "Hinata… you can't be serious in joining! I mean… they'll be taking pictures of you and… and dressing you up in weird clothes and posting you on the internet!" Gaara said, trying to get her not to join. "Come on, you make Cosplay sound like a bad thing." Sasori said.

"…and I know how much you hate having your picture taken." Gaara finished. Hinata only blinked and smiled. "But isn't it good to try something new?" She said. "Grah! Why must you be such an optimist!?" Gaara yelled. "S-Sorry!"

-:- Later -:-

It was already almost dinnertime, and only two other Akatsukis were awake: Itachi and Pein. Hinata and Itachi already knew each other, they've been friends ever since they were kids. So Pein was the one who needed to be introduced.

"Well, I'm glad that you'd like to join, Hinata. But… what about your friend over there?" Pein pointed to Gaara, who was sitting beside Hinata so that Deidara couldn't get to her. "I'll join too. I need to keep _him_ away from her." Gaara said without turning to Pein. Deidara huffed, turning away. "I… see. Okay, welcome to Akatsuki, you two." Pein stood up. Hinata stood up as well, bowing to him. "Th-Thank you!" she said shyly. She didn't want to admit that she had been staring at his outrageous piercings the whole time.

Gaara stood up as well. "I think it's getting pretty late for a Saturday, so we'll be going home now." He said, pulling Hinata's arm. "Ah… it's only 5… I think I can stay a little bit longer." Hinata said, smiling at him. Gaara sighed, letting go of Hinata's arm. "B-But if you want to go home you can. I'll be fine." Hinata walked back to the couch and sat down. "No. I'll supervise." Gaara leaned against the wall beside the door, glaring at Deidara.

"Hinata, have you had your first kiss yet?" Pein asked in a low business-like tone. Hinata looked confused for a second, then shook her head. "Why?" she turned a bit red. "Well, some of the shots we take may require you to kiss someone, so we just want the issue out of the way –that is, if you care who your first kiss is." Pein explained, leaning back on the couch. "Oh… well… I don't exactly care, but I wouldn't want it to just be some random guy on the street, you know?" Hinata laughed a bit.

"Uh huh…" Pein paused to think, closing his eyes. Then, he looked at her. "I'd like you to have your first kiss by tomorrow afternoon." He said. Hinata turned dark red. "What!?" she scooted back in her seat. "I know it's sudden and all, but I just thought that it would be easier for your first kiss to be… soon." Pein stood up and shrugged. Gaara was shaded a light pink as he walked to sit beside Hinata on the couch. He knew that Deidara was gonna make a move.

Hinata slowly nodded. "I-I'll try… but… I don't know if anyone would _want_ to kiss me…" she touched her face to cool off a bit. Deidara and Gaara sat up straight on the couch. _WE WOULD!!_ They thought.

The five (Itachi was still in the room lol) talked for a bit longer until it was almost 6:30. Hinata had to leave, so she and Gaara said good-bye and walked out the door.

Deidara grabbed Gaara by the collar. "Hey. I know what you're thinking. Since she needs to be kissed by tomorrow, you think that you can kiss her." Gaara frowned. "…what of it? It's not like I'd let someone like _you_ kiss her." He said. Deidara shook his head. "What I'm saying is that you should be her first kiss. I'll just make her my girlfriend afterwards, is all." Deidara huffed, pushing Gaara back out the door.

"You're too confusing, Deidara!" he yelled at him. "You're too… too dumb! Yeah!" Deidara mentally punched himself for the lame come back. "'Dumb?' Deidara, I've taught you better than that!" Pein scolded jokingly. "Shut up! That guy is walking away with my almost-girlfriend!" Deidara yelled. "Please, you're getting _nowhere_ with Hinata. She doesn't even know that you like her yet!" Sasori said, laughing. "Gaah!!"

-:-

Hinata was still red while they were walking home. She had her hands on her face to try to control the blushing, so instead of holding hands they linked arms instead. "First kiss by tomorrow… what a first task!" she said to herself in disbelief. Gaara turned a light pink and looked at her. "Um… Hinata?" he started, swallowing a big lump in his throat. Hinata turned to him and smiled. "Yes?" she waited for an answer patiently.

Gaara cleared his throat, trying to look a bit more professional. Psh, yeah right. "Um… I-I-If you d-don't mind… Um… I-I could… k-k-kiss you…" he stuttered, running a stressed hand through his hair. Hinata turned red. "I-I don't m-mind at all…" She said softly, the two of them looking into each other's eyes. Slowly, Gaara wrapped his arm around her. "A-Are you sure that you want _me_ to be your first kiss?" he asked, just to make sure. Hinata nodded. "Well, you said that… you wanted to… right?" she laughed a bit.

He clutched the back of her jacket and pulled her closer. As their faces moved closer, their eyes closed. Both their hearts were beating fast and they both turned a dark red. Hinata suddenly stopped. "Hey." She said. Gaara opened his eyes. _What the hell does she want now? Of all times!_ He still held her close as he listened. "Um… if we get too into the moment and stuff… and when one of us starts a little tongue…" Hinata trailed off. "Hinata!" Gaara urged her to continue._ Come on, I wanna kiss you!_ Hinata rubbed her face on his jacket, looking very embarrassed. "And if one of us doesn't feel the same way the other does… promise that we'll still be bestest friends."

Gaara looked at her with a soft look. "Is that really what you worry about all the time?" he asked, leaning closer. Hinata stopped him again. "Last time, I promise." She said. Gaara nodded. "… And… if bad things come from us kissing each other –like we summon the apocalypse or something," she giggled a bit. "…Then we'll say we didn't do it." Gaara rolled his eyes. He was about to lean down again, but for a third time, Hinata stopped him. "What is it _now_?" he asked, making it obvious that he was getting annoyed.

"I-I'm sorry! But… I'm just thinking that… I'm kissing the guy I had a crush on in the fourth grade. I'm kissing the guy that I've spent almost every percent of my childhood with. I'm kissing my best friend." She laughed a bit at his impatient look. _She was the one who wrote me that note in the fourth grade?_

-:- _Flashback (stalling for Gaara and Hinata's first kiss)_ -:-

Gaara opened his locker, stepping back when a piece of paper fell out. It read:

_I love you! Please be my boyfriend!_

He turned the card over and looked for a signature, but didn't find any. "There's no name…" he crumpled the paper and threw it away (Gasp, so insensitive), walking back into the classroom.

Hinata was watching from behind another locker, a few tears spilling out of her eyes. First love: Failure. She pulled the note out of the trash and smoothed it out. The note she took so much time to write (it was only 7 words long) was an ultimate waste of time. Out of anger, she ripped up the note and threw it back in the trash can. _He should've at least recognized my handwriting!_ She sobbed, running down the halls and out of the building.

After school, Gaara tried looking for his best friend, Hinata. But she was nowhere to be found. _Hm. Maybe she already went back home._ He shrugged, walking the other way to his house.

-:-

"…Is that why you wouldn't talk to me for the next week and a half after that?" Gaara asked. Hinata nodded. "I'm sorry! You know how retarded I was back then!" Gaara apologized. Hinata shook her head and giggled. "I got over that when you said you were worried about me when I came back." She said. They stayed still for a while before Hinata thought about how dark it was.

"Oh no! What time is it?" she asked, scrambling to look for her cell phone. Gaara was forced to let go of their hug. "Oh gosh! I'm so late for dinner!" she cried, starting to run down the sidewalk. Gaara followed her until the two reached her house. "I'm sorry, I kept you waiting too long for that kiss." He said. Hinata shook her head, fumbling with the keys to the house. "Me too. I kept stopping you. I should have shut up altogether!" She giggled, putting the key in the keyhole.

Gaara looked at her with a somewhat dazed look. Then he boldly walked up the stairs and stopped her from opening the door. She turned to him with a confused look. Gaara pinned both arms against the door and gently pressed his lips against hers. Hinata turned dark red as Gaara pressed a bit harder. His arms wrapped around her and his body leaned on her slightly. Hinata's heart started beating faster and faster until she felt like it was about to burst. She closed her eyes and kissed him back lightly.

Gaara opened his eyes slowly, pulling away. Both were panting lightly. They didn't say anything. Gaara's hand caressed her face, his face close to hers again. He tucked her hair behind her ear as his lips brushed against hers again. Then, suddenly he was walking down the stairs to leave. Hinata took a deep breath. "S-See you… tomorrow." She said softly. She didn't know if he heard her, so she went back into the house feeling a bit light-headed.

_My first kiss!_ She thought happily.

-:-

So… Gaara kissed her… her first kiss. Their first kiss.

And yes, Hinata had a crush on Gaara in the fourth grade. She let go of those feelings and apparently passed them onto Gaara.

And sorry if it doesn't make sense in this chapter... I had to work on a lot of crap and unfortunately... I have a life. XD

…Bye,


	4. Fangasm

Gaara sighed contentedly on his way home. _Her lips were so soft…_ he thought. He entered his house, walking up to his room. Temari and Kankurou were already asleep, so he left all the lights off and closed the door to his room. He plopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He was grinning ear to ear. Jumping off the bed, he changed into different clothes for sleeping and went back to bed.

Though, he couldn't fully shake off the feeling that he was forgetting something. Something big and important. But he was tired, despite all the things that had happened that day. So he gave up on thinking and went to sleep.

-:-

Hinata giggled as she went up to her room after dinner. Her father scolded her for coming home late, but she was feeling too giddy to be let down. She twirled to the bed and lay down, sighing happily. She got up and changed into pajamas and crawled into bed. She took out her sketch book and began drawing what she felt: Happy beyond all reason.

Now, having her first kiss was a big deal and all, but having her first kiss to be with Gaara was… well… awesome. She couldn't really think of another word to describe it. She wondered if he felt the same. But now she was sleepy, so she lay down on her bed and slept.

-:-

_Okay… let him have the first kiss… now I have the first date._ Deidara thought, lightly pressing the tip of his pen to his lips in thought. _But… where should I take her?_ He closed his eyes, looking through his mental schedule of the month to find a good day to take her somewhere. Her, being Hinata, of course.

Then his eyes snapped open. _That Anime convention is coming up! I could take her there!_ He grinned at the thought. Really, a first date at an anime convention. Wonderful. (Personally, I'd take the offer. But this isn't me right now -.-) Deidara looked at the clock and realized how late it was. _I'll ask her out tomorrow._ He happily changed into sleeping clothes and went to bed.

-:-

"_Hinata, I love you. Will you go out with me?" Deidara suddenly grabbed her by the arms and looked her straight in the eye. She turned a dark red. "U-Um… Okay." Deidara smiled, leaning down and kissing her. _

_Suddenly, Gaara burst into the room and yelled, "No! _I_ love her!" Hinata stared at him. He was wearing a… Lavi costume. From D. Gray Man. For some reason. Except he wasn't wearing the headband. But he still had the hammer. He swung it at Deidara, who blocked it with a… sword!?_

_Now that she really looked, the three of them were dressed up as people from D. Gray Man. She was Lenalee, Gaara was Lavi, and Deidara was Kanda. Except they haven't changed their hair. Hinata felt exposed wearing such a short skirt. _

"_Alright! We fight to the death!" Deidara declared, striking a pose and holding his sword out. Gaara did the same, holding the hammer in a threatening manner to him. "D-Don't fight…" Hinata said softly. She felt sort of light-headed._ Maybe I'm waking up…_ she thought as her sight began to fade._

Hinata jumped up in bed, almost falling off. "What a… strange dream." She gasped to herself. She looked to the clock and got out of bed. "Dreaming of a love triangle between me, Gaara, and Deidara…? I feel so conceited." She muttered to herself, making her way to the bathroom.

(Really, don't you ever feel that way when you (if you've) dream of a love triangle including yourself and two other guys? Like a 'Oh, that'd never happen, why would I bother dreaming of it?' kinda feeling? Bah, forget you.)

Hinata got ready to leave, slipping on her jacket and stepping out the door. She forgot to say that she was leaving, so she turned and yelled a quick 'Bye!' and walked down the steps. But, because she wasn't looking where she was going, she tripped and began to fall… until somebody caught her.

"Hinata, are you alright?" a familiar voice asked, concerned. Hinata looked up and saw that it was Sasori. This was rare. "S-S-Sasori-san!?" Hinata squeaked. "You shouldn't walk down the stairs like that, it's dangerous." Sasori smiled at her. "What are you doing here?" Hinata asked. Sasori repeated the question in his mind again (he didn't quite function properly in the morning) and smiled at her again. "That reminds me." He took out a lighter and a small piece of paper.

Hinata gave him a confused look as he held out the paper in front of her. It had her address on it. Suddenly, it burst into flames in front of her, making her draw back in surprise. The burned paper fell to the ground, and on impact turned into a pile of ash. "Okay, now that that's out of the way…" he put the lighter in his pocket. "Gaara told me to pick you up today. He said something about 'having a family thing' at home, and he knew that you would want to come to the Akatsuki base, so yeah." Hinata nodded.

"What kind of family thing?" Hinata asked. "I dunno. But anyway, since he asked me _personally_ to escort you to the Akatsuki base, he wrote down your address and told me to burn the paper after I picked you up." Sasori started leading Hinata down the sidewalk. "He muttered something about Deidara, but I didn't understand." _He didn't want Deidara to get it._ Hinata laughed inwardly to herself. "But he told me to protect you for the day- or at least until he arrives at the base himself." Sasori explained further.

"Really? Oh, well you don't have to." Hinata said. "Yeah, but then he said that 'if she says not to, do so anyway.'" Sasori laughed. "Wow. He really planned it out." The two laughed a bit.

"So, there's this anime convention coming up and back at base we were deciding on what anime to group-cosplay as. What do you think?" Sasori asked. "D. Gray Man!" Hinata blurted out. There was an awkward silence, and then a laugh. "We never even _thought_ of D. Gray Man!" he said, patting her on the shoulder. "Ehehe…" Hinata laughed nervously. _Curse that dream from last night…_ she thought darkly.

"By the way, all the others are awake today." Sasori said. "Really!?" Hinata asked, amazed and excited. Sasori nodded. "Every single one of them." He laughed at her whimsical look. "D-Do they l-look like…" she squealed when she saw Sasori nodded. She jumped in the air and hugged him. "That's so awesome!!" Sasori hugged her back briefly before she fell back to the ground. "Ah, here we are."

Sasori opened the door slowly, enjoying seeing Hinata all jumpy and excited. "Hurry up, hurry up! I wanna see!" she said, a huge grin on her face. When the door opened completely, the first person she saw was Deidara, who she gave the biggest hug she could give. "HI!!" she yelled. Deidara twirled her around a bit before letting her stand on her own. "Deidara-san!" she giggled.

Suddenly someone pulled her onto the couch. "Hey, is this the girl you two were talking about yesterday?" he had silver hair that was combed back and purple-ish eyes. Hinata hugged him tightly. "Hidan!!" she squealed. Hesitantly, Hidan wrapped an arm around her, almost feeling like crying tears of joy. "…I'm hugging a girl… and she's not hitting me and calling me a pervert!" he said, amazed. Hinata giggled. "Dear Jashin, she's a cute one, too!" he sobbed.

Hinata was moved onto someone else's lap. "You're very pretty." This person had a mask over his face. "K-Kakuzu!" Hinata squeaked. She grinned widely. "You look soo cool! Is that mask real? What's it made of?" before he could answer her question, someone else grabbed her.

"Kisame!" Hinata giggled. "You have blue hair, just like me!" they both laughed. "Are those gills real?" Hinata asked, trailing a finger over the gills on his face. "Not entirely." Kisame grinned.

She stood up and walked to someone who was black and white with green hair. Zetsu. Hinata held a thumbs up at him. "Good job! You're _not_ racist!" Zetsu held a somewhat amused look, returning the thumbs up with a small smile. "No I'm not." He said in a low voice.

Hinata turned to Pein and smiled. "Leader-sama!" they already met yesterday, but she didn't want him to feel left out. There was a lady beside him, a white flower accessory on her blue hair. "Konan!" the lady turned to her and smiled a little. "Hm?" Hinata squealed. "You're so cool!!" she said happily. Oh yay. A Konan Fan.

"Ah, but where's…" Hinata turned around when she heard loud stomping noises coming towards her. "HINATA-CHAAN!!" Someone clung to her in a big hug and sent them both to the floor. "Tobi missed you so much!!" Hinata laughed. She felt someone tug her arm to help her up. She realized that it was Itachi. "Don't leave me out." He said, hugging her. Hinata giggled a bit, hugging him back.

"And you need to introduce yourself properly." He muttered into her ear. "Oh! I forgot!"

Hinata turned around and bowed. "My name's Hinata Hyuga. It's been reeeeeeeeally nice to meet you all and… I'm sorry for my fangasm just now." Everyone laughed.

(**Fangasm:** _Exploding with fanpersony goodness. (_**Fanperson:**_ General term (according to TheWindAlchemist) for fangirl or fanboy._)

-:-

Gaara was currently sitting on his bed, thinking very deeply about his kiss with Hinata last night. He was feeling fine with it then, but now… No, it wasn't a big deal, was it? _But what if I ruined her life because I kissed her? What if we were never meant to kiss?_

_**Jeezus, what a negative person you are!**_

Gaara's eyes widened slightly.

_**What?**_

Gaara hit his head a few time, thinking that he was just hearing things.

_**The least you could do is introduce yourself to me! God, hitting me in the head is one sure way to make friends!**_

This was confusing.

…_Hi… I'm Gaara? Nice to meet you?_

Nice to meet… who?

_**That's much better. I'm Shukaku, your conscience. **_

…_What the hell? What kind of bullshit am I trying to feed myself?_

_**Hey! I'm some high-quality shit that nobody'll find anywhere!**_

… _What the fu-_

_**I'm joking. God, get that stick out of your ass. Anyway, I understand that you just kissed the girl you like for no good reason. Correct?**_

… _-he's still freaked that he's talking to his inner self-_

_**And the problem is that a reason is still there. The problem's that the girl joined a cosplay group that required you to have already had your first kiss. And, basically, you could piece things up from there.**_

_Seriously, what the hell are you?_

_**You're stupid.**_

_What!?_

--

Temari and Kankurou were crouched down at the foot of the door, watching Gaara as he stayed still sitting on his bed. He was doing absolutely nothing, and he looked kinda out of it. Temari walked up to 

him and poked his head, getting a bit worried when nothing happened. Kankurou walked up beside her and poked his head as well. He got worried too.

"Maybe he's dead?" Kankurou said stupidly.

"Maybe something happened to him last night that he's just remembering now." Temari said smartly. (Oh the difference…)

There was a silence. "Oh, I got it. He's talking to someone in his brain." Kankurou poked his head, feeling very intelligent. "That's a stupid idea. Gaara has too much common sense to have an inner voice." Temari said. "Well maybe that thing that might've happened last night made him have less common sense to make him able to have an inner voice." Temari thought a moment. "… Damn. That's some good logic."

_Why would you think that!?_ (I dunno)

--

_**What I'm saying is that –hey, your siblings are here.**_

_What?_

Gaara blinked and looked at Temari straight in the eye. Well, more like glared. "What?" he asked flatly. Suddenly, he was pulled into a tight hug, keeping him from breathing. "What a troubled child I see before my eyes!" she declared dramatically. "What!? What are you-"

"OH the tragedy!!" she cried. "Whatever shall we do?" Kankurou said in a bored tone. "You two are un_believable!!_" Gaara yelled, pushing Temari off of him. "Gaara… I'm hurt!" she said, a sudden spotlight shining down on her. "Well I'm leaving!" Gaara jumped off his bed and quickly changed clothes (somehow) and ran out the door.

_**Do you always storm out of the house whenever they do that?**_

_I storm out of the house whenever I CAN._

Gaara walked down the sidewalk, not realizing that he was heading in the general direction of the Akatsuki base. He stopped when he found himself at their front door. Shrugging, he knocked on the door twice before someone quickly answered.

"Ah, Gaara! Hey, welcome to the party." It was Sasori. _**Who's this?**_ What the hell did I just say? SASORI. Hinata was sitting on the couch (in between Deidara and Itachi) drinking coke. She quickly stood up and smiled. "Gaara! You came!" she said happily. Gaara turned a light pink as she walked up to him.

"Who's that, Hinata?"

"A friend of yours?"

Hinata turned to them and nodded. "This is Gaara, my bestest friend in the whole world!" she giggled a bit, linking arms with him. She pulled him into the room and made him introduce himself. "Uh… Hi. I'm Gaara." He said plainly. "Hi Gaara!" The small crowd responded, laughing and giggling for no good reason. Perhaps they were all drunk on laughter (I know I was lol)

On the inside, Gaara was happy to meet all the Akatsukis in real life for the first time. But on the inside of his inner self, he was still nervously awkward when around Hinata. And even deeper inside his inner self, was the need to have her again, and this need was neighbors with his other inner self, Shukaku.

Hinata led him to the couch, where surprisingly there was enough room for another person. "Here, Gaara, have a drink!" Kisame happily handed him a can of coke. "This was going to be my fourth one, but I think you should have it. Haha!" Honestly, I don't know what the hell is so funny. Gaara nervously took the can, opening it and drinking it. He placed it on the table and leaned back on the couch. His usual position on a couch.

Apparently they were talking about these funny things they saw on the internet.

"Shoes. Oh my god! Shoes!" Kisame imitated the famous 'Kelly's Shoes' video on YouTube.

"Charlie! Candy mountain, Charlie, candy mountain!" Hidan was repeating a line from 'Charlie The Unicorn.' "Hey, there's a second one, you know. It's about getting an amulet to the banana king!" Itachi laughed a bit. "Aw, seriously? I gotta see it!" Hidan stood up and walked to the computer.

Gaara carefully scanned the room, tuning out the loud laughing and talking. _What were they doing before I got here?_ He wondered.

The laughing died down a bit when Sasori clapped his hands twice. "Alright guys, we've had our fun… now we have to pick who's going to be who at the convention next weekend." He said, taking out a thick folder. "Now, I have many pictures of many different characters from different shows all with different clothes." Everyone looked at the pictures, none of them seeming to be interested in their choices.

"We did all of these last year." Itachi said. "Yeah, but there's one anime that we haven't done in a long time: D. Gray Man." Sasori waved a hand to Hinata, who blushed at the sudden attention. "And if I remember right, that convention was one of our best ones, no?" he winked at Hinata, gathering up all the pictures except the ones involving D. Gray Man. "Ah, D. Gray Man… I really need to continue reading." Deidara said thoughtfully.

"So since we have our anime set, let's see who's going to be who, okay?" Everyone agreed happily.

-:-

_Oh dear…_ Yes, Hinata just remembered her dream last night. It was a strange one, too, because it was (from the viewpoint of the anime) a LavixLenaleexKanda love triangle… according to her dream. Wait. According to Hinata's dream, she was the object of both Gaara and Deidara's affection. But the two 

were dressed as Lavi and Kanda, and she was Lenalee. So technically it would be a LavixLenaleexKanda in the eyes of others. Well, none of this had anything to do with what happened. Or did it? (it did.)

"Okay! I've written down who will be who, what will be what, and where will be where!" Sasori proudly held up a piece of paper and showed it to everybody.

Allen Walker –Sasori

**Linalee Lee –Hinata** (first time cosplaying)

**Yu Kanda –Deidara **

**Lavi- Gaara** (Also first time cosplaying)

Arystar Krory- Itachi

Miranda Lotto – Konan

Bookman (Tall Version lol) –Pein

Komui Lee –Hidan

Note: Relationships outside of cosplay have nothing to do with the character in the anime (In other words, if two of you are going out, you don't have to find a character that's going out with your partner's character (In more words, a couple doesn't have to look like a couple in cosplay)))

_Honestly I think that Itachi would have made a better Kanda..._ Hinata thought. Deidara made a great Kanda, sure, but Itachi already had the hair…. Just add the bangs and stuff… Naw, she was just trying to avoid déjà vu from her dream.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Sasori speak again. "But, there's just one teensy weensy problem…" he said, proving his point by pressing his thumb and index finger together. "I need to know Hinata and Gaara's measurements." The room fell awkwardly silent. "And this covers height, waistline, arms length, and for the lady, bra size." Hinata turned a dark red. "D-Does everyone need to know?" she asked. "No, just me. Do you trust me?" Sasori smiled at her.

Hinata turned a bit red and thought a moment. "I'll go first if you want." Gaara said, standing up. "O-Okay…" Hinata smiled a little at him as Sasori walked Gaara to a different room.

"Aw, Hinata! You're so cute!" Deidara gushed, hugging her tightly. "Ah! D-Deidara-san!"

--

"Okay, Gaara, where do you want to start?" Sasori asked, taking out some measuring tape. Gaara just sighed, staring into space as he sat in a chair in the corner. "What's eating you?" Sasori sat in front of him on the floor, staring into his eyes that didn't seem to be looking back. "A terrible little bug called Love." Gaara said without thinking.

He heard Sasori laugh, so he started paying attention a little more. "It's Hinata, isn't it?" he said, having Gaara stand up. "What do you think? Just look at her, cute, funny, kind… curves." He turned a bit red. "Oh the curse of curves." Sasori laughed. "… And I'm with her almost every single moment of every single day and she still doesn't have a clue as to how I feel." Gaara sighed and slouched his shoulders only to stand up straight again to get a proper measurement.

"Well are you trying to get her to notice you?" Sasori asked. Gaara shrugged. "What's the point? I think she's more interested in Deidara than me." Gaara relaxed when Sasori said that the measurements were done. "Well I'm no expert; I've never fallen in love before, but I think that the best thing to do is just let her know how you feel instead of trying to leave hints." Sasori started rolling up the tape measure and put it on a table.

Gaara thought a moment. "How do I do that?" he asked. "How?" Sasori shrugged. "Catch her somewhere when you two are alone. Then just say 'I love you.' Simple, no?" He laughed when he heard him say 'Yes.' "Well, just try your best then. Find a great moment to say it and she's yours. (It says so in many fanfictions.)" Sasori said. Gaara nodded. "Thanks." He started walking to the door.

"Tell Hinata to come in when she's ready." Sasori said before he closed the door.

--

"…" (surprise)

"…" (Anger)

"…" (Um…)

"…" (LOL)

Gaara stared angrily at the scene before him. Deidara was on top of Hinata on the couch, and everyone (except for Hidan) was gone for some reason. Hidan was holding back laughter at the awkwardness of the moment. "H-Hi G-Gaara…" Hinata stuttered, turning dark red. "Get off." Gaara ordered, glaring at Deidara. He just laughed awkwardly, not moving from his position. "There's a perfectly rational reason that we're like this…" he said. "Good. That means that there's a perfectly rational reason for me to kill you." Gaara cracked his knuckles as he walked towards the couch.

"Ah! U-Um, Gaara… wait a minute! It's not what it looks like- Umph!" Hinata tried to get up but forgot that Deidara was on top of her, so the two fell off the couch, switching places (Hinata on top, Deidara under). Hidan began laughing a little more before making his leave into the kitchen (probably where everyone else was.) Hinata turned a dark red for a moment as Deidara smirked.

Gaara saw this and in one swift motion pulled Hinata up by the arm and punched Deidara. Hinata rolled over the top of the couch and landed on her butt. "Hinata, Sasori needs to measure you now." Gaara muttered as he continued to beat Deidara up. Hinata was about to try to stop them, but Sasori took her by the arm and pulled her into another room.

"They won't kill each other. Right now you have a slightly bigger problem." Sasori said, closing the door. He pulled out the measuring tape and stretched it out. "Where do you want me to start?" he asked. Hinata turned red. Um… H-Height?" she stuttered. Sasori nodded and started measuring her. The whole thing went by pretty quickly, and the last things were around the waist and her bra size.

"You won't beat me to a pulp if I touch you here, right?" Sasori asked, wrapping the measuring tape around Hinata's waist. She turned a bit redder and shook her head. "Wh-Why would I beat you up anyway?" she asked, trying to hide her awkward feeling. "When I had to take Konan's measurements, when I touched her without permission, she kicked me in the balls. Then Pein somehow heard what happened and started beating me up as well. That's kinda the reason my hair's red… but that's another story." Sasori laughed. "Oh… well, I would never do anything to hurt you… I guess…" Hinata said. "Thanks."

A few minutes passed, and no matter how nicely Sasori asked, Hinata was reluctant to tell him her bra size. "Come on, one small letter is all I'm asking for…" he said as a last attempt. Hinata was sitting in a corner, burying her face in her knees. She was too embarrassed to tell her bra size because it was… pretty large. She remembered this one time where her friend-girls started joking about 'give me back my chest size!'. She knew it was a joke and all but… it was still embarrassing.

"Okay, you force me to guess…" Sasori said, sighing. "Go ahead." Hinata mumbled softly.

"C." Hinata shook her head.

"B?" She shook her head again.

"A." he knew it wasn't possible for her chest size to be A.

"…D?" Hinata didn't say anything, so he assumed that it was. "What's there to be ashamed about, Hinata?" Sasori laughed a bit. "W-Well, nowadays it's hard to trust guys because most of them are perverted sickos! So My mom always told me to keep this kind of thing a secret!" Hinata said, playing with her fingers and looking to the floor.

Sasori put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. We're all respectable… enough people here. Nothing to worry about." Really bra sizes aren't that big a deal. "So let's see what the outcome of Deidara and Gaara's fight was, okay?" Hinata nodded, standing up.

--

"You two! I can't believe you both beat each other to bruises!" Hinata scolded. Deidara and Gaara both had frozen vegetables on their cheeks. "Really, you two can't kill each other before the Anime Convention." Sasori sighed. "And where did everyone else go?" Hinata asked. Deidara shrugged. "I bet they ditched us." He muttered, annoyed. Hinata sighed. "But really… you two can't be fighting anymore. Alright?"

"Okay…" the two muttered, glaring at each other.

_For her sake…_

_We'll be friends._

_For now._

-:-

Bra sizes have suddenly become a minefield subject.

D. Gray Man Cosplay!

Anime Convention!

Shukaku: Gaara's Inner Concience!

GaaHinaDei Love triangle!

Gasp!

I'm just writing this to make this author's note longer!

LOL

Oh My God Shoes! :D

Btw, out of curiosity, who are you rooting for? Gaara or Deidara? Perhaps Sasori? I dunno…


	5. Dating!

I feel like I should say something here… I don't own Naruto? Nah… I'm reading an awesome comic on a website called 'SmackJeeves?' No…

Oh! I remember! Things are gonna be a little fast-paced in this chapter so… :D

And is it just me, or are these chapters beginning to make less and less sense as they go on... -.- I dunno. Just bear with me, k?

-:-

Eventually it became close to the time Gaara and Hinata had to leave.

"Sasori, is there anything I need to do to help you with the costume?" Hinata asked as they walked to the door. "No, but I'll tell you one thing: You're the only person who offered be help on the costumes." Hinata turned a bit red and laughed. "Okay, but just call me if there's anything you need, okay?" she said, smiling as the two of them left out the door. "Bye Hinata! See you tomorrow!" Deidara called. "Bye!" Hinata said before the door closed.

Deidara sighed contentedly and leaned back on the couch. "She is so… awesome…" he said, laughing a bit. "Hm." Sasori agreed.

"By the way, what did you do that made Gaara so mad?" Sasori asked. "Hm? Oh, He found me on top of Hinata is all." Deidara said plainly. "What were you doing on top of Hinata?" Sasori laughed a bit. "Well…"

--

"Aw, Hinata! You're so cute!" Deidara gushed, hugging her tightly. "Ah! D-Deidara-san!" Hinata blushed as he kissed her cheek. "Wh-What are you d-doing!?" she asked, trying to wriggle out of his tight hug. Deidara laughed. "I just can't get over how cute you are!" he said, not noticing the others (except Hidan) leaving the room.

Then suddenly everything fell silent. The two stayed in that position for a while. _Hidan's not really paying attention… I bet he's just sleeping with his eyes open… again. _Deidara was anticipating the perfect moment to kiss Hinata. Ignoring any signs of no coming from his brain, he leaned down and kissed Hinata straight on the lips. She gasped at the sudden pressure on her lips. "Deidara…san." She whispered when he pulled away.

"Oh, sorry." Deidara said, licking his lips. He tried getting up, but tripped on a piece of the rug and fell on top of Hinata. "Hyah!" she squeaked. "Sorry!"

--

"Then suddenly Gaara came and everything got shitted on." Deidara huffed. "And I wanted to kiss her again!" he crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh. You kissed her? My turn's gonna be soon, huh?" Sasori said, opening the blinds to watch Gaara and Hinata walk away.

-:-

"Are you okay, Hinata?" Gaara asked. The fact that she looked troubled wasn't the only thing that had him worried, it was the fact that she got _molested_ by Deidara back there. Hinata looked at him and smiled. "Yeah. I-I'm fine." She said, looking back to the ground. Gaara frowned. "Are you sure?" he asked again, this time holding her hand. Hinata turned a dark red and then looked at him. "Okay… Deidara kissed me back at the base and… well, I've just been thinking about him just now…" she trailed off.

_Oh, he kissed her too. I gotta go back and whack him around a few times…_ Without knowing it, Gaara had started cracking his knuckles and waiting for a fight. "B-But don't hurt him because of it…" Hinata put a hand on his fists. "Um… I-I actually… k-kind of… liked it." She said shyly. "Oh." Cue heart breaking. "Alright." Gaara cursed under his breath and looked away. "Is something wrong?" Hinata turned slightly to look at him. "No. It's… nothing."

Hinata looked at him worriedly, then turned to look in front of her as they walked. "If you say so…" She said. When they reached Hinata's house, Hinata scurried up the stairs. It was Sunday, so she had to sleep a little early to wake up in time for school. But before she could open the door, Gaara grabbed her by the arm and crashed his lips onto hers. It was sort of rough, but nothing that Hinata couldn't handle. Gaara pulled away and stormed down the walk and onto the sidewalk.

"Gaa…ra?" Hinata said, watching him until he was out of sight.

--

_I knew it_

_She likes Deidara_

_Not me_

_Figures_

_I'm just her friend_

_I knew it would end up like this_

_But I never thought it would kill me this much…_

Gaara kicked the pebbles in the park that his legs took him to. He cursed to himself as he made his way to the swings and just sat down, running his hands through his hair.

_**You okay, kid?**_

_Go away._

_**You sure it's okay to be not home like this?**_

_What do you care?___

_**Touché.**_

_She doesn't love me like I love her._

_**That's not entirely true.**_

_How can that be, though!? I've known her for almost 12 years!_

_**Are you listening to me?**_

_I've loved her since the 5__th__ Grade! I've tried and tried to give her hints and now she loves someone else!_

_**HEY!!**_

Gaara stopped. He's never heard something yell from inside his brain before. It was weird. And loud.

_**God, just listen! Look, you just **__think__** that Hinata doesn't like you because you were always anticipating rejection! Why are you getting so bummed out by something you thought would happen? God, it would be a lie if I told you 'If you really love her let her go'. So this time, if you really love her, grow some balls so that you can grab her by the hand!**_

…

_**And you keep kissing her and running away! Next time, kiss her and when you part for air kiss her again! And again, and again, and again until your lips fall off!**_

…_!?_

_**And for the love of Jeezus, next time mess that guy up so bad that his own mother wouldn't recognize him!**_

_You're right._

_**Of course I am! If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here! **_

_But if I beat Deidara up, then Hinata wouldn't like it. Really. _

_**Fine. Leave this alone until you actually grow some balls. Or until a good moment for you to sweep her off her feet comes. Whichever comes first.**_

_Agreed._

Gaara stood up from the swing and began walking home. _I feel retarded. __**You are retarded.**_

-:- Hey, why don't I make it Thursday already? -:-

_**Wakey, Wakey, Sleepy Head.**_

…_What the hell?___

_**It's a Thursday.**_

_Ugh, I hate Thursdays._

_**Too bad! Time to get up and see your lovely Hinata again!**_

"_Lovely?" That's a new word from you._

_**Shut up.**_

Gaara yawned as he sat up in bed, stretching. "Thursday means a new Naruto chapter…" he muttered, scratching his head. He made his way to the bathroom. He took a shower and changed into his uniform, combing his hair for fun. It's not like his hair was long enough to be combed, he just wanted to keep away from his siblings at breakfast for as long as possible. And besides, the longest his hair stayed back was like, 5 seconds or something.

He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, yawning again. Another night with little sleep.

"Gaara! Good _morning!_" Temari greeted him with a wide grin. "What did you do this time?" He asked. She looked offended for a minute. "Gaara! I'm hurt! Why would you accuse me of doing something bad!?" she asked dramatically. "…Why _wouldn't_ I?" Kankurou snickered from his place at the table. Temari glared at him.

"Oh, Dad called and said that he'd be coming home today." Temari said. Gaara spat out the water he was drinking (all of a sudden). "Whaddaya mean he's coming home today!? For how long?" he asked, surprised and somewhat disappointed. He didn't exactly like his father. "I dunno… Like a day or two? A week?" Temari shrugged. "The point is that he'll be offended if none of us are here to see him when he comes home. We have to take the day off. No school no part time job, and we need to clean the house."

Gaara sighed in annoyance and leaned on the counter by the sink. "I _hate_ it when he just drops by like this. It makes things so… inconvenient." He said. "I know. And I heard you talking about some anime convention coming up. It'd suck if Dad wanted to come, y'know?" Temari said. "…what annoys me even more is the fact that you know about that. Who told you?" Gaara asked. "I listen in on every conversation you have on the phone and record all the IM conversations you have with Hinata." Gaara growled in annoyance. _Why me?_

"I don't care. I'm going to school. See ya." Gaara took his bag and walked out the door. "Ah, wait, Gaara!" Ignoring the yells from his older sister, Gaara kept walking to school, forgetting something important along the way.

-:-

_Oh… Gaara isn't here today._ Hinata thought as she walked out the door and onto the sidewalk. She sighed and remembered last night. "…I wonder why he kissed me yesterday." She wondered aloud. She looked at her cell phone for the time. _I bet I'm terribly late…_ she thought. Actually, she was terribly early. Early enough to make a quick trip to the Akatsuki and back, really. In fact…

Hinata quickened her pace a bit and made her way past the school, not realizing that she just passed her best friend by the shoulder.

Gaara turned slightly at the light touch on his shoulder, only catching a glimpse of familiar blue hair. He turned a little more only to lose sight of the person in the crowd.

Hinata hurried down the alley and knocked on the door, trying not to sound impatient. This time, instead of Sasori, Deidara answered the door. "Hinata?" he smiled at her as she turned a light red. "D-Deidara-san…" Hinata shyly smiled back, pushing the thoughts of yesterday to the back of her head. "What brings you here so early in the morning?" he asked, chuckling lightly. "Um… I-I had time to spare, so I thought I'd see what you guys were up to… like… see how my costume looked like, y'know?" Hinata laughed awkwardly. "I see…"

Deidara offered for her to come inside, but she kindly refused. "I'll just come back after school. Sorry to bother you so early… I'll be going now." Hinata bowed slightly and turned to leave, but he grabbed her by the arm. "Hey. Can I ask you something?" he asked. "Sure. What is it?" Hinata smiled at him a little, turning her head to look at him.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Hinata turned a dark red at the question. "H-Huh?" Deidara laughed a bit. "I love you. Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked again. How forward. How come he didn't do this sooner?

Hinata turned an even darker red and looked to the ground. "O-Okay. S-S-Sure!" she nodded. Deidara pulled her into a tight hug. "Awesome!" he cheered. He kissed her head and grinned. "I'll see you later then, okay?" he said. Hinata nodded, still a bit red. "Bye!" she waved to him from the sidewalk and left, leaving Deidara as happy as a bird.

--

Gaara flinched on his way to his locker. It was a few ten minutes before school, so he just hung out in the hallway until classes started. But just then, he felt a bad vibe. _Something happened just now… and it's not good._ He thought. He heard footsteps running toward him, and he lifted his head to see who it was.

Hinata waved to him excitedly, as if she had something great to tell him. "Gaara! Gaara! Oh my gosh, you won't believe what happened to me just now!" she said, clinging to his arm. "What?" Gaara asked curiously. "Deidara-san asked me out!" Hinata giggled happily. Gaara stopped his small smile from turning into a frown. "Oh… Did you go to Akatsuki just now?" he asked. Hinata nodded. "I had some time to kill, so I went over there and Deidara was the one who answered the door and…" She spoke quickly, still a bit excited.

Gaara just listened, each word sending an arrow through his heart. Ow.

_**Well, now I have to work even harder to get Hinata for you.**_ Shukaku said in an annoyed tone. _I'll say._ Gaara agreed mentally.

The two heard the bell ring. "Oh the bell! I'll see you later, Gaara, okay?" Hinata smiled as they parted was down the hallway, one of them skipping happily and the other slumping his shoulders in defeat.

-:-

Hinata and Gaara didn't really talk until after school because at lunch the girls were talking to her about her new boyfriend. Since there was almost no room to be comfortable there, Gaara just sat somewhere else.

"… They asked me so many questions that I didn't even know the answer to…" Hinata laughed a bit, and Gaara just smiled a little. "And how did they even know? I was just sitting there, zoning out and minding my own business… I think I heard the teacher call on me a few times but I didn't answer… well, I didn't make it obvious, did I?" Hinata smiled at him. They stayed silent for a little while.

"Gaara… What do you think?" she asked innocently. Gaara looked at her. "What do _I_ think?" he repeated with a hint of confusion. She nodded. "About you dating Deidara?" he thought a moment, even though he knew what he felt. "I can't say I like it. But whatever makes you happy, I guess." He said, shrugging. _I think I'm getting used to watching from the sidelines._ He thought. _**That's not good. You should be getting used to standing up for yourself! Grow some-**__Can we leave my balls alone this time?_

"Oh… well… thanks." Hinata smiled a little. "No problem." Gaara said.

The two neared the Akatsuki base. As they walked towards the door, it slammed open. "Hinata! Look, I finally finished it!" It was Sasori, and he was holding up a costume of Lenalee in his hand. "That's great! But what happened to your fingers…?" Hinata walked up to him, holding his other bandaged hand in hers. "Oh, I just had a few accidents with the sewing machine. It's nothing." Sasori laughed a bit. "Oh… Sorry for the trouble."

Sasori looked at her with a bewildered look. "N-No! You don't need to apologize, Hinata. It's just me having one of my clumsy days, is all." Hinata smiled. "Okay." The two at the door entered the base and sat down. "Hinata, could you try this on? I wanna see if I got the measurements right." Sasori said, handing Hinata the costume. "Sure." She walked to the bathroom to change, a few minutes later opening the door. She was being incredibly shy, it was such a short skirt.

"Come on, don't be shy. Let me see." Sasori said gently, using a calming voice to coax her out of the bathroom. "But the skirt is so short! I could've sworn the skirt in the manga was longer than this!" (by like, a millimeter or two…) Hinata shrunk more behind the door. Suddenly, the door to Deidara's room opened. "I'll get her out." He said quickly before walking into the bathroom and closing the door. "…I thought he was gonna get her _out_…" Gaara said.

--

"Woah! Hinata, you look… awesome!" Deidara said, amazed. "Ah! W-Wait, don't look at me like this!" she squeaked, hiding behind the shower curtain. "Why not?" he asked, taking a step closer to her. "B-Because… I-It… the skirt… it's not even as long as a miniskirt!" A slight exaggeration, really. Hinata 

turned a dark red. Deidara grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. "You're my girlfriend now, so why shouldn't I see?" he laughed a bit, twirling her around (somehow). "U-Um…" Hinata buried her face in his chest from embarrassment.

They stayed like that for a minute before Deidara patted her back gently. "Now, it's either you go out there and strut your stuff or watch me go to the bathroom." He said jokingly. "Ah! I-I'm sorry! Okay, I'll go then…" Hinata walked out of the bathroom, immediately turning a dark red when she felt two sets of eyes stare at her. She hesitantly looked up, looking incredibly cute to her watchers.

"D-Does it look weird?" she asked. Her hair wasn't in the right hair style, so she thought it would. Gaara just shook his head. Sasori grinned. "We need Hidan to fix your hair up so we can see what the whole thing looks like. Go ahead and put on the boots while I go get him." Sasori said, nodding to the boots in the corner as he walked towards the hallway. All the Akatsuki's rooms were there except for his.

Deidara walked out of the bathroom and stretched. He just took a bath. "Hello, hello." He said, walking to the couch and sitting down. He saw Hinata sitting on the floor and putting her boots on. He reached out his arms and asked for a hug. "Ah! Um, h-hold on, okay?" Hinata zipped the boots on and walked to him, the second she got close enough he pulled her onto his lap. She squeaked in surprise, clamping her arms around his neck. Deidara smirked, wrapping his arms around her. He was completely ignoring the fact that Gaara was sitting on the same couch.

"D-Deidara-san! W-Wait, I'm too heavy!" she said, trying to find a way to get off his lap without falling off. "You're not heavy, and don't call me 'san' anymore." Deidara kissed her cheek, making her turn dark red. Gaara turned away from the two and stared at the door. More like glaring at it.

Deidara kissed her on the lips this time, holding her closer. "I love you." He said, their noses toughing. Hinata closed her eyes and smiled. "I love you too." Gaara clenched his fist, keeping it hidden in his jacket pocket. _Keep cool._ He said to himself, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes. _Jealousy makes me act recklessly._ He thought. He was told this some time ago, the only reason he remembered it was because it rhymed.

"Hey, you two! Get a room!" Hidan laughed, walking into the living room. "Shut up, we'll make out wherever we want." Deidara huffed, kissing Hinata again. "Whatever. So you wanted me to get your hair to look like Lenalee, huh?" Hidan asked, taking out a comb and two (fancy-looking) hair ties from his pocket. Hinata nodded, carefully getting up from Deidara's lap. Hidan whistled as he looked Hinata over. "That's one sexy short skirt." He said, ignoring the glares form both Deidara and Gaara.

Hinata blushed as she sat on the chair that she was supposed to sit on. "Alright, let's get started." Hidan started combing her hair, every stroke done gently and carefully. "You have such nice hair." He commented, tilting her head so that he could work on the bangs. "Thanks." Hinata giggled a bit. She's never been complimented on her hair before. "What a cute laugh, too. Damn, Deidara, you're such a lucky guy." Hidan laughed a bit.

"There, all done." He leaned back a bit to admire his work. "Wow… I've really outdone myself this time!" he said haughtily, laughing in a superior way. "Now all we need is to dye her hair black and…" Hinata shook her head. "I don't want to get the wrong idea from my parents, so is it okay if we not dye my hair?" she asked. Hidan shrugged. "I suppose. Or maybe I'll just get that special dye where it's easy to wash off." Hinata thought for a second. "That'll work."

There was a sudden flash, and everyone turned around to see Kakuzu holding a camera. "What? She looked nice." He said, trying to sound innocent.

-:-

When it was time for Hinata and Gaara to leave, it was already almost 7. Deidara kissed Hinata good-night, and the two left. Gaara felt that he was forgetting something important, but paid no mind to it.

"Hinata… do you really love Deidara?" he asked out of the blue. Hinata looked at him. "Yes…" Gaara frowned. "Why? What about him makes you two suddenly…" he trailed off. Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. "Well… I don't really know." She said honestly. _She just couldn't say no… she almost never does._ He thought bitterly. "I guess I just think that… he's just… a really cool guy." Hinata laughed a bit at her simple answer.

_**Admit it, little girl, you just couldn't say no.**_ Shukaku said from the back of Gaara's head.

The two were soon at Hinata's house. At the door, Gaara put his hand on her arm. "I guess I can't kiss you on the mouth anymore, huh?" he said, kissing her on the cheek instead. "G'Night." He said, walking away. "Bye… See you tomorrow." Hinata watched him walk away until he was out of sight and then went into her house.

"Welcome home, Hinata!" Her mother called from the kitchen. Hinata walked over to her and sat at the table. "Sorry… did I miss dinner again?" she asked, noticing that all the plates were gone except for hers. Her mother nodded. "But it's alright. Are you hungry?" she also took a seat at the table. "No… but I want to talk to you about something." Hinata started telling her mother about going out with Deidara… and who he was, because her mother only knew the Deidara from that manga she was reading (Naruto).

"That's great, Hinata! So when do we get to meet him?" Hinata thought a moment. Now that she remembers, Deidara's hair was dyed black for the sake of the anime convention the day after tomorrow. So if he came over while his hair was still black, and the next time they see him it's blonde, they might think he was a delinquent of some sort. And no doubt that Neji would tease her about how she was only dating him because he looked like an anime character. But that wasn't the only reason she was dating him. Right?

"Not… Now. But soon." Hinata said vaguely. Her mother nodded slowly then smiled. "Alright, dear, whenever you're ready." She said with understanding. "Alright." Hinata stood up and began to walk to her room, but stopped. "Oh, are you going to tell dad about this?" she asked. Her mother laughed a bit. "Do you want me to tell your father?" she asked. "It depends on how he'd react." Her mother laughed again, and then said, "Then I won't tell him yet."

"Thanks, Mom."

-:-

Deidara's hair is dyed black. :D

--

Omake Theatre: The Akatsuki

The Akatsuki, along with cosplaying, have their separate main jobs to keep the organization running. Here I will explain who is what and why this is so.

Pein: The leader of Akatsuki. Also a cosplayer, he's the one who decides on where their photo shoots will take place.

Konan: The more logical half of Pein's actions. She's also the person who helps take care of the money and bill-paying (along with Kakuzu of course, don't worry)

Kakuzu: The Photographer. Not exactly professional, just skilled at it. He helps Konan with the money and bill-paying.

Hidan: The (NOT GAY) Hair stylist. He's very sensitive about the fact that hairstyling is for gay men (not entirely true). He curses randomly and has some interest in Hinata.

Itachi: Cosplayer 1. He and Kisame organize their website, the store, and other things on The Akatsuki Website.

Kisame: Cosplayer 2. Ditto.

Tobi: Cosplayer 3. Takes care of the Zetsu House Plant. Too childish for his age, but as they say, 'you're as old as you feel'.

Zetsu: (Isn't really a person) The Akatsuki's only surviving houseplant. Tobi is really the one who takes care of him, though/

Sasori: The 'Sewing Machine'. He makes most of the costumes, and makes them sell-able on the internet. Likes Hinata…?

Deidara: A Main Cosplayer. Hinata's boyfriend for now.

Gaara: Also a Main Cosplayer. Loves Hinata, but is really too shy to say so. He's too obvious for his own good, yet she doesn't even have a clue.

Hinata: A Main Girl Cosplayer. Deidara's Girlfriend for now. Feels that she loves Deidara but isn't quite sure.

Omake Theatre: End

So yeah. I'll go work on the final draft of that report I have that's due tomorrow now…


	6. Psycho

I just realized that Hinata's parents give her so much freedom. Freedom that we all know our parents (or if you're a parent you would never) grant us. I'm suddenly jealous. Lol

-:-

When Gaara got home, he suddenly remembered what that important thing was. His father's car was parked out in front of the house, and Gaara ran into the house.

"Gaara! Welcome home, my son." A voice boomed from the living room. Gaara slowly walked towards the voice, staying close to the wall. He saw Temari and Kankurou sitting on the couch across from their father. "What took you so long to get here, son?" their father stood up, an almost evil look in his eye. Gaara kept his distance from him, eying him carefully.

The tree of them remembered the last time their father came to visit. It was always, always Gaara who ended up with a broken arm or a bandage or two on his face. And it would always, always be because he wasn't there to greet his father when he did come home. Temari and Kankurou would regretfully look away and tend to Gaara's wounds when he was done.

_**Who's this psycho?**_

_Dad._

_**Oh. Why's he looking at you like that?**_

…

Gaara remembered those other times. Their father would only come home just to beat him up then leave. Taking out all his anger on him. The only thing he used to justify it was that he was never there to greet him home. As if seeing him when he comes home would help. Odds are that there's something pissing him off at work that he'd _love_ to take out on him for.

"Gaara, son, come over here and give your ol' man a hug." Father spread open his arms. Gaara shook his head. "Gaara…" Temari murmured worriedly. "No? Oh, well that's just too bad." Father walked to the corner and took out a small knife, pointing it to Gaara. "Father… wait a minute…" Temari started. "Temari dear, me and Gaara are just gonna play a little game. Like all those other times. Alright?" Temari stayed silent. She gave Gaara an apologetic look, but he didn't blame her for anything. What was she supposed to do anyway?

Without thinking, Gaara ran for the door. Father chased after him, slamming the door closed. Gaara ran as fast as he could, turning every corner trying to shake off the man he was supposed to call father.

"Don't you want to play a game, Gaara?" he called to him. "It's like this every month! You always leave me injured in some way! I hate you!" Gaara yelled back angrily. "It hurts me to hear you say that, Gaara. You must be punished." Gaara heard his footsteps run faster, and in turn he did the same. "Why do you come home only to hurt me like this!?" he asked.

Gaara cursed himself for tripping on a rock on the trail. _Shit…_ he felt his father kick him in the gut, and then cut him across the shoulder to his stomach. There was a sudden pain in his right eye and he let out a small yelp of pain. He managed to kick his father away and put a hand over his eye, feeling a cut trail right through it. "Aagh…" he growled, glaring at his father with his good eye. "I'm your son, for chrissake! What the hell did I ever do to you!?" (That's what _I'd_ like to know) in response, his father just laughed, sending chills down his spine.

Suddenly, father made a move towards the knife. "Tell me, Gaara, how old are you?" he asked, pressing the knife to the ground and making it point to Gaara. "… 16." Gaara scooted away, a hand still pressed to his eye. "I see. One… Two…" Gaara saw that he was turning the knife in a circle. When he reached 15, he stopped. "Now, I'll give it one freehand spin, and if it points to you, I get to cut you wherever you want. If it lands on me, you can tell the police about what I've done. Okay?" there was an evil grin on his father's face.

"Here we go!" Father spun the knife, the two of them waiting for it to stop. Gaara could have run away, but his legs wouldn't move. The knife slowed to a stop, and Gaara winced when the knife pointed to him. "Oh, what a pleasant surprise. I get you all to myself for the rest of my visit." Suddenly, the two of them ran for the knife. Gaara got to it first and kicked it away from his father, giving him enough time to run. "Come back, Gaara, you're breaking the rules!"

_Psh. Yeah, and you're breaking the law. Jeez, my eye hurts like shit…_ Gaara thought bitterly, not bothering to turn back to see if his father followed. _Hm. The Akatsuki base is closer than my house from here… Good. I'm getting dizzy…_ Gaara hurried down the alley and desperately knocked on the door.

Sasori quickly answered the door. "Hello? Gaara! Woah, man, what happened to you!?" he asked, helping Gaara inside the house. "No time to explain… just get me… some… bandages…" Gaara managed to make his way to the couch before completely blacking out.

--

_For as long as he could remember, Gaara couldn't escape one month without a bruise or a cut. He would always be beaten senseless for one day, only to be beaten again by the time he recovered. _

"_Temari…" Gaara (5 years old) sobbed. "Why only me? Why does he only hit me?" Temari (7 years old) gave him a sad look as she wrapped the bandages around his arm. "I don't know. I'm sorry this happened to you again, Gaara." She replied in a soft tone. Soon Gaara stopped crying. He tried moving his arm again, but winced in pain. "Don't move it so much, okay? Now go to bed. Dad's leaving tomorrow." _

_Temari tried to walk away, but Gaara clung to her. "I'm scared. Can I sleep with you tonight?" he asked innocently. Temari smiled a little. "Okay. We'll have a sleepover, Kuro can come too!" she said, ruffling his hair. He laughed a little, following Temari to her bedroom. _

_-_

_The next morning, Gaara clutched Temari's shirt tightly as they said their goodbyes to their father. __tomorrow."kay? Now go to bed. Dad'is arm again, but winced in pain. "s arm. "ne day, only to be beaten again my the ti__Gaara closed his eyes tightly when their eyes met. "Goodbye, Gaara." Father moved his hand to pat Gaara's head, but instead moved to his hurting arm and squeezed it tightly. "Ow…" Temari gently moved Father's hand away from Gaara's arm, earning a small glare from him. "Till next time, kids. Dinner's in the fridge." He said, putting on his hat and walking out the door. _

"_The only thing he left was a phone number and some money. What kind of dinner is that?" Kankurou said from the kitchen. "I think it's take-out again. I'll call." Temari said, leading Gaara to the living room to sit down. "I wish mom was back…" Gaara said softly. "Me too." Kankurou say beside him on the couch. "Me three." Temari said, walking to the phone in the hallway. _

_That's when it all started, really. When he was five. They still don't know why. _

_--_

Gaara woke with a start. He looked at the ceiling and the down to what was in front of him. He tried getting up, but winced in pain from his back. He saw that it was pretty sunny outside because the room he was in was brightly lit even though the lights weren't on. He remembered that his eye got cut, and moved his hand to touch where the wound was. There was an eye patch on it instead. Suddenly he felt very cool, and a bunch of anime characters who wore eye patches crossed his mind. Lavi, Roy Mustang, and those two guys from Air Gear (He couldn't remember their names. He knew there were more, but he could only think of those guys for now.

Soon he realized that he was in the Akatsuki base. The living room. _**Duh, you were the one who brought yourself here.**_Just the voice he wanted to hear.

"Oh, are you awake now, Gaara?" Sasori walked over beside him and put down a glass of water. He smiled at him, Gaara returning the smile with a small 'thanks'. "Dude, what the heck happened to you?" he asked. "My dad…" Gaara growled, gulping down the glass of water and putting it on the table. "No dad I know tries to cut his son's eye out." Sasori said. "Well obviously you don't know _my_ dad." Sasori stayed silent.

Deidara walked into the room. "Hey, I called Hinata. She says she'll be here right away, alright?" he said, stretching as he sat beside Gaara on the couch. Right when he said that, the sound of knocking on the door came. "Ah, she really meant 'right away', huh?" Deidara laughed, getting up to answer the door.

"Gaara! Are you alright!?" Hinata walked past Deidara (ignoring his request for a small kiss) and towards her friend on the couch. She stopped when she was about a few inches from his face, making him turn red. "You… You look awesome!" she said, a sparkle in her eye. After the confusion, Gaara took that as a compliment. "Thanks." He smiled a bit.

"But… who did this to you?" Hinata asked, putting a hand on his shoulder only to remove it when she noticed that it was bandaged. "My dad." Gaara grumbled. Hinata gasped. "Your _dad_ did this to you!? Where is he now? We need to call the police!" she said, reaching for her phone. "I think Temari and 

Kankurou did already, but I'm not…" _Oh. Right._ Hinata tilted her head in confusion. "Here, gimme your phone. I need to call them." Hinata handed him her cell phone and watched him call his house.

"Hello?" he said.

"_GAARA!? Holy crap! You're alive!_"

"_Is that Gaara? He's alive? Where is he?_"

Gaara sighed, holding the phone away from his ear. Everyone could hear the conversation.

"_Gaara, where'd you put dad?_" Temari asked. "Where'd I… 'put' him?" he repeated. "_Yeah. We called the police, but they're still looking._" Kankurou reported. "…I didn't 'put' him anywhere. I just managed to escape." There was a long pause. "Oh, and he got my right eye."

"_WHAT!? YOUR EYE!?_" The two on the other end shouted. "Yeah. I have to wear an eye patch and I look really cool. Right, Hinata?" Gaara had the phone face Hinata. "Uh.. Y-Yes. He looks very… cool." She laughed a bit.

_They're not worried at all!_ Deidara and Sasori thought.

"Okay, when I get back home, tell me I look awesome in an eye patch, alright? God, honestly I feel more awesome than hurting." Gaara laughed a bit. "_No really, where are you? We'll come over._" Temari said. "We're at the Akatsuki base. Here, I'll give you the address, okay?" As Gaara told his sister the address, Hinata sighed in relief that he wasn't dying. Really, that was the only thing she was worried about currently.

Gaara hung up the phone and handed it back to Hinata. "That went better than expected. But since my dad's still on the loose, I'll have to stick by your side until he's incarcerated…" he said. "Okay… I'm just glad you're not dead! When Deidara called me I thought you were in a hospital! But then he told me that you were here and… and…" she blushed in embarrassment of her lack of words to say.

Deidara smiled, walking over to her and kissing her. "You're so cute!" he said. Gaara's smile faded a bit, but still stayed on his face.

Before Deidara and Hinata could get too 'lovey-dovey' in front of them, Sasori stood up and said, "Okay, so, Gaara, I hope you're feeling a bit better. I'm sure that you two are missing school right now, but why not take the day off and try on your costumes, huh?" he said that for Gaara's sake, really.

Deidara glared at him while Hinata smiled. "Okay, why not?" she stood up, only to be pulled into a hug. "Because I wanna kiss you." He said, making her giggle as he kissed her all over the face. "Come on, you two, I want to see if I made the costumes right." Sasori said, pulling on Hinata's arm. "A-Alright. I'll go first then." She said, following Sasori to his room (where all the costumes were kept).

That left Gaara and Deidara in the living room. Luckily it wasn't for long, because Temari and Kankurou were at the door. Deidara answered it, and immediately Temari rushed in and gave Gaara a tight hug. 

"Oh _Gaara!_ You have no Idea how worried I was about you! I thought dad had killed you!" she sobbed. "I'm fine, Temari." Gaara said through her chest. "Your boobs are killing me." He added. Temari pulled away and laughed. "I'm sorry." She said. She turned and saw Deidara closing the door. Their eyes met briefly before Deidara offered them a drink.

"Who's the _cutie_? –heart-" she asked, staring at Deidara with sparkles in her eyes. "He's Hinata's boyfriend." Gaara answered flatly. Deidara laughed awkwardly, making his way to the kitchen. Maybe they did want drinks after all, huh?

The door to Sasori's room opened, and Hinata walked out slowly. st. " killed you!"at the door. Deidara answered it, and immediately Temari rushed in and gave Gaara , "Come on, don't be shy." Sasori said from the room. "B-But the skirt is so short!" Hinata protested. Deidara poked his head out of the kitchen at the sound of 'short skirt'. Sasori pushed her out into the open, and just then all the guys in the room had a severe nosebleed.

"Hi_nata_! You look so _cute_!" Temari squealed, jumping off the couch and towards Hinata. "Ah! Temari!" Hinata squeaked as Temari hugged her tightly. "Gaara, Kuro, doesn't she look so cute?" Temari looked to her two brothers on the ground, a pool of blood around them. Temari huffed, thinking that it was an insult. "Don't listen to them, Hinata, they're just jealous that they can't wear a skirt like you can!" she said. Hinata laughed awkwardly.

Sasori walked out of his room (he was cleaning up) and laughed a bit at the two (three, with Deidara who fell in the kitchen) on the ground. He walked out into the living room (ahem, into Temari's view) and folded up the blankets that Gaara had thrown onto the ground during his fall. Temari let out a dramatic gasp. "He's_ hot!!_ Who _is_ he, Hinata!?" she asked. Sasori turned to her and smiled. "Hi, I'm Sasori. I'm guessing that you're Gaara's sister?" Temari nodded, giggling a bit. "Of _course,_ and I'm Temari." She introduced herself.

Gaara gained consciousness (the pool of blood suddenly gone lol). He looked at Temari with a look that read 'Here we go again…' Temari just laughed. "Gaara, are you feeling better now?" Hinata asked, walking towards him. Gaara nodded, standing up. "You look… pretty?" they both laughed. _I just wish I could see this with both eyes… stupid dad…_ he thought. "Thanks!" she said, smiling.

Suddenly Deidara crashed into her with a hug. "Hinata!! I love you!!" he squealed, rubbing his face against hers. "Th-Thanks…" Hinata giggled a bit. "Now I wanna try on my costume and we'll be a pair!" he said happily. Deidara went into Sasori's room (without permission) and started putting on his costume. He walked out carrying Gaara's costume.

"You too. It's actually pretty convenient that you lost your right eye. Here, but I suppose that you won't need the eye patch anymore." Deidara threw to Gaara the Lavi costume as he tied his hair in the same kind of ponytail that Kanda had. "What do you think?" he asked, a proud look on his face (probably because he made his hair without Hidan's help). "That looks… okay." Hinata said awkwardly. Deidara looked disappointed. "Ok_aaaaayyy_? Not great? Fabulous? Full of awesomeness?" he asked, walking closer to her with each word. Hinata avoided eye contact for a minute. She didn't mean to hurt his feelings.

"W-Well… I was just thinking that… there'd be a better person for the job, you know?" she explained, playing with a strand of hair absently. "Like who?" Deidara asked, folding his arms in front of him. He was standing in front of her. "Like… Itachi? I don't know…" Hinata laughed nervously under his gaze. "Itachi!? How would _he_ make a better Kanda than me!? (You know, besides his serious demeanor, already black hair, and somewhat negative glare that would be perfect for Kanda's character)" he asked.

Hinata decided to just stay quiet. Deidara pretended to be angry, but pulled her into a hug instead. "Oh, I can't stay mad at you!" he gushed, showering her with kisses. (how out of character for a Kanda cosplayer to do).

"You two are so cute together." Temari said, grinning. Hinata blushed. "Th-Thank you." She smiled a little at her.

"So anyways, Gaara, Hinata, since it's your first Con, I took the liberty of making lists of things you should bring. (I'm very prepared, lol)" Sasori handed Gaara and Hinata a piece of paper, both of them looking over it carefully.

A Cell phone (to keep in touch)  
A Camera (Lots of pictures, lots of memories :D)  
Paper (Autographs)  
Money (lots of it)  
And At least one or two of the Akatsuki (us) with you (To keep Hinata safe from those perverted people)

Prepare to pose for many pictures, 'cause your costumes are awesome :D

Hinata laughed a bit at that last part. "Okay, thanks." She said.

There was a moment of awkward silence. "Gaara, you haven't put on your costume yet." Deidara pointed out. "So what?" he asked. "I wanna see what you look like!" Sasori said, grinning. "Oh, I want to see too!" Hinata said. Gaara sighed and got up, noticing that the pain in his back and shoulders were almost gone. "Alright, alright. Hold on a minute." Gaara grumbled to himself he made his way to the bathroom. When he got out, the only thing missing was the headband.

Hinata squealed in delight. "That looks so awesome on you, Gaara!" she said, clapping her hands together happily. "I know… I've outdone myself on this one- yup!" Sasori nodded in approval. "Sure, you tell him he looks awesome, yet I'm just 'okay'!" Deidara said, acting jealous. Hinata looked worried for a minute, which made Deidara burst out laughing. "I'm kidding! You're always so worried about nothing!" he said, wrapping an arm around her as he laughed. "Hmph!" Hinata huffed. "I'm joking. I love you." He kissed her lightly on the cheek.

-:- After Gaara and Hinata left -:-

_**Gaara has signed in**_

_**Hina-chan has signed in**_

_Hina-chan: How're you feeling?_

_Gaara: Meh._

_Hina-chan: Not so good?_

_Gaara: …meh._

_Hina-chan: lol there are better answers than just 'meh'._

_Gaara: fine. Are you excited for tomorrow?_

_Hina-chan: YOU BET!! I'm dying of excitement here!_

_Gaara: lol me too_

_Hina-chan: what should I draw? I haven't drawn something in a while_

_Gaara: I dunno… draw me! With my new eye patch!_

_Hina-chan: That'd be awesome, wouldn't it?_

_Gaara: I wonder what the ppl at school are gonna think._

_Hina-chan: You'd be popular with the ladies –they like people with eye patches for some reason lol_

_Gaara: you've been talking to Ino?_

_Hina-chan: all the other girls, actually._

_Gaara: they say anything about me?_

_Hina-chan: they say you always look angry._

_Gaara: …_

_Hina-chan: …_

_Hina-chan: N-No harm meant… really!_

_Gaara: I know, lol gtg g'night_

_Hina-chan: yeah, g'night_

_**Gaara has signed out**_

_**Hina-chan has signed out**_

-:- Day of the Anime Convention -:-

In the car (courtesy of Uchiha family) Hinata couldn't contain her excitement. She kept tapping her leg and squeezing both Deidara and Gaara's hands (she was sitting in between them). "Hinata, calm down…" Gaara laughed. "I can't help it! I told you I was already dying of excitement-now it's getting to overkill!" Hinata giggled. Deidara laughed too.

"Hinata, we've been to the con for a long time. Because of this, we're sort of… famous. So just act as natural as you can while people are pointing cameras at you." Pein laughed from his place at the driver's seat. Hinata nodded. She knew that she didn't do so well in front of cameras, especially ones held by strangers, but for her first time cosplaying and her first time at an Anime Convention, she'll do her best –no, better than her best!

She heard a laugh from in front of her. "You look so determined, Lenalee." It was Hidan (who was cosplaying as Komui (Lenalee's older brother)). "Do I?" she asked, confused. "Yeah, but I guess that's what makes you cute." Hinata couldn't exactly tell if it was Lenalee he was talking about or if it was her herself. So she just smiled. "Thanks!" she turned a bit red.

Deidara stretched an arm around her almost defensively. "No flirting with her! She's all mine!" he said possessively. "She's more mine than yours! I'm Komui, her older brother!" Hidan huffed. Deidara flinched, as if insulted. This was war. "Well I bet more people pair us together than you two!" he snapped back. "Yeah, but they pair her with _me_ the most." Our own little Allen Walker (Sasori) said, chuckling a bit. Both Deidara and Hidan glared at him, insulted. Everyone laughed.

When they arrived at the Convention, Hinata squealed. "Look at everyone!" she gasped. She was about to pull out her camera to take a ridiculous amount of pictures, but Deidara pulled her by the arm and into a line. "We need to register, okay?" he said, trying to calm her down.

After registering, the group headed for the place where most of the people were gathered. Almost immediately they were asked for pictures. Hinata thought it was pretty hectic, what with all the people walking by and the constant flashing of cameras, but all in all, it was fun.

Almost two hours into the Con, Hinata was asked something that she found was a little awkward.

"Could I get a picture of you kissing Allen? Please?" This person happened to be a strong supporter of this pairing. Hinata nodded, turning to Sasori with a huge blush on her face. Sasori smiled. Hinata glanced at Deidara, who only shrugged. "Only a kiss, right?" he said. "Yay!" The person squealed, readying her camera. Kakuzu got his camera ready as well. "We're only doing this once, so better get ready." Sasori called out. About ten more people gathered around them, their cameras out and prepared to flash.

"Okay, one… two…!" Sasori pulled Hinata into a kiss and immediately the cameras started flashing. Loud screams of happiness were heard, and Sasori smiled. The two pulled away, leaving Hinata dark red and Sasori… pretty happy. "Got it…" Kakuzu said to himself. Deidara huffed, folding his arms over his chest. Everyone scattered again, the crowd turning even louder; probably talking about the event that took place.

"Hey, Sasori, we're gonna go look around, alright?" Pein said. Sasori nodded. "Go ahead. We'll be right around here… unless we're somewhere else." He laughed. As the other part of their group left, only Sasori, Deidara, Hinata, and Gaara remained. They noticed that one person from the crowd before had stayed. around here... "ight?"

"E-Excuse me, but can I record Allen saying 'I love you' to Lenalee, please?" the person asked shyly. This time Sasori was the one who looked at Deidara for approval. Again, he shrugged. "You owe me." He said, more to Hinata than Sasori. But it still applied to both of them.

Sasori smiled, holding Hinata by the shoulders. "Is it on?" he asked the girl, referring to the camera. She nodded. Sasori turned back to Hinata and looked her straight in the eye. Her heart started beating fast, and her cheeks turned red. But it wasn't her name that he said.

"Lenalee… I… I love you." Sasori said it in a professionally shy voice, making the moment all the more cuter.

"What do you say, Lenalee?" Another person who was watching said. Hinata turned red, glancing at Deidara briefly. "U-Um… I-I l-love you… too… Allen…" she said shyly. This made Sasori smile wide. "Thank you so much!" The girl said happily, bowing slightly. "That was such good acting!" one person said. "That girl is seriously cute!" another said. Hinata blushed at all the compliments she was getting.

Deidara wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Let's go walk around." He huffed, pulling Hinata away from the crowd. Gaara and Sasori followed, Sasori chuckling a bit to himself.

"Deidara, are you _jealous_?" he asked.

"Yes. Stay away from my girl, Allen Walker." Deidara said.

Sasori just laughed again.

-:-

Am I the only one who feels that Gaara is being ignored at the con?

PS: Who knew that Gaara had such a messed up past. Certainly not I, especially in this kind of fanfic x.x

EDIT: some things weren't right... so i fixed them :D


	7. The Phantom of the Opera

Okay, there's a reason that I've been not updating

Okay, there's a reason that I've been not updating.

1: My computer turned into shit right after I updated the last story I updated (which was…?)

2: Be_cause_ my computer turned to shit, I haven't been able to finish the chapter I was working on.

3: And my sister (klutzilla01) said that it was because the computer was being overused (btw it's a windows vista) and I thought so too, so I left it alone for (five minutes) before turning it back on to see if it was okay.

4: stupid me that counts as being overused.

5: This list is getting long, so I'll end it at number six.

6: So here I am, writing on the sticky keyboard of my old computer that surprisingly still works after being abused (overused) by moi, just to make this list. On with the story now, for I have… HOLY SHIT FIVE MINUTES BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS!! I'LL JUST PUT THIS UP NOW AND TELL THEM NOT TO REVIEW ASFJMKL; XVXC,.JASFJRHGFD…

-:-

And that's what I thought when I didn't update. I'm still writing from my sticky keyboarded computer. But, all for the sake of writing this chapter because there's this one point in my idea box I wanna get to!

**Obsession**

They've been here for a few hours, and finally they find a place to sit and rest. They've been everywhere at least five times, and been posing for pictures about a thousand times more. So that makes five thousand pictures at least.

Hinata sighed, leaning on Deidara's shoulder. "Oh god… I just had a mini-seizure with all the flash photography…" she said. "Better get used to it… this'll happen every year." Deidara wrapped his arm around her. "Hey… we should find the others, see how they're doing. Then we could go outside for some fresh air (or more pictures)." Sasori said, glancing at Gaara to see his reaction to Deidara and Hinata. He didn't look too happy, but he was staying calm. Enough.

"You know… when I got here, the first thing I thought was: 'If I go to the bathroom, I'll probably see an anime people washing their hands at the sink.'" Hinata said, laughing a bit. "Oh yeah… that'd be cool, seeing another Lavi in the bathroom…" Gaara said absently.

The three turned when they heard someone call to them. "Hey! We finally found you guys!" It was Pein and the others. "They started a Glomp circle outside, wanna go?" Itachi asked, grabbing a chair from another table and sitting down. "'Glomp Circle?'" Hinata asked.

"Oh, it's a seriously fun game, Hinata!" Konan said. "It's when a bunch of people gather in a circle and throw a (an empty) bottle into the air and whoever it points to you have to glomp. A simple and fun game." Pein explained. Hinata smiled. "Sounds fun! I wanna go." She said. "And what makes it better is that it's with anime characters." Hidan added as the group walked towards the door leading outside.

Immediately they were included in the circle, and almost immediately Hinata was in the circle. It was kinda weird hugging complete strangers, and once randomly someone yelled 'Group hug!' and she got squished right in the middle when everyone ran in. And, without knowing it, the circle had grown bigger. There were over six bottles being thrown into the air, and almost every five minutes she was being hugged (all by chance lol). By now she had hugged almost everyone once.

The circle eventually got a little too big, so the Akatsuki (as D. Gray Man characters) left. It was really fun, but there were other things to do (such as getting in line to get Vic Mignogna's autograph).

-:-

Speaking of which, the line for Vic Mignogna's autograph was starting. And it was long. But the thing was, Vic wasn't there yet.

Hinata and Gaara hurried to find the place where the autographs were to take place (they lost track of the other Akatsukis), but something caught Hinata's eye. She turned slightly and gasped a bit. Vic Mignogna, _The_ Vic Mignogna was casually walking towards the elevator. Hinata stared wide-eyed at him as he entered. "G-Gaara! Look! It's Vic!" she said, waving frantically at Vic, who was in the elevator.

He thought that she needed the elevator, so he held the door and offered for her to come inside. Hinata grinned and pulled Gaara's arm to the elevator, keeping her eyes on Vic. "Hinata, what are you talking abou- Oh my god it's Vic Mignogna." Gaara said, looking at Vic. He smiled at him, Gaara's mouth wide open in surprise. "VIC MIGNOGNA!!" he yelled as the door closed.

"Hi, you two. What floor?" Vic asked casually, nodding towards the elevator buttons. Hinata gripped Gaara's arm tightly in excitement. "Wh-Wh-Wherever y-you're going, V-Vic…" Hinata stuttered shyly. "Alright. Nice costumes, by the way." Oh that voice…

Hinata kept herself from squealing. "You guys here for the autographs?" Vic asked. "Y-Yeah… but we're kinda lost… so we kinda followed you here to the elevator." Gaara said as calmly as he could. Frankly, he was having a spazz attack. Vic seemed to notice, so he smiled and said, "Something wrong, Lavi?" Gaara shook his head. "I'm fine."

The elevator was silent, aside from the faint whirring of the gears pulling the car up. "Hey, you two want my autograph first?" Vic offered. Hinata and Gaara both gasped dramatically. "W-We couldn't possibly… I mean, wouldn't it be kinda rude to do that? I mean, there are about a million people waiting in line for you and…" Hinata started. "Well, think of it as payment for keeping me company on the elevator, okay?" Vic chuckled a little as the doors to the elevator opened.

Hinata and Gaara glanced at each other and laughed. "That'd be great!" They said happily.

(Author's Note: Stuck in an elevator with Vic Mignogna… I envy them… btw: I dunno if Vic would actually say these things (or if he reads DGM), so don't verbally abuse me in the review saying crap like 'JKLA ;MC,.JGKASFD;J VIC NEVER SEZ THAT!!' okay? Kthxbybbq)

-:-

The group (Akatsuki) were now driving home from the Anime convention, laughing and talking about what they did while the others weren't watching. Hinata was the one who said that they saw Vic Mignogna in the elevator.

"WHAT!?" Everyone yelled.

"_The_ Vic Mignogna!?" Hidan asked.

"As in Edward Elric, Dark Mousy, and everyone else!?" Kisame yelled.

"Yes, Vic Mignogna the most awesome person ever. We saw him going to the elevator, and we got separated from you guys so we had no idea where to go… so we followed him. We were the two who got his first autograph." Gaara said proudly.

"Lucky…" Deidara muttered. He hugged Hinata tightly and kissed her head. "I'm glad you had a good time, Hinata." He said, everyone going 'Awww…'

--

Omake: Home

"HINATA! YOUR HAIR!!" Hinata's mother shrieked when Hinata came home. "AAGH! It's black! Is that dye? Wash it off now!" Her father yelled. "Whoa, Hinata, your hair." Neji commented, laughing a bit. "Mom, I want black hair too!" Hanabi said in a whiny tone. "You've influenced your sister! Aah!!"

_All this… because I forgot to wash the dye out of my hair…_ Hinata thought awkwardly, going up to the bathroom to wash out the hair dye. _Oh well. I still have all my anime things…_ she laughed a bit at her nerdy ways.

Omake: Home –End

--

At school on Monday, Gaara noticed that the keychains Hinata got at the Anime Convention were on her pencil pouch. He laughed a little. "You like it?" she asked him, holding up her pencil pouch for him to see. "Yeah. Maybe I should do the same. That'd look cool." He said.

Suddenly Hinata started giggling like crazy. "What?" Gaara asked. "WE MET VIC MIGNOGNA!!" She squealed. "He is such a cool guy! It feels like such a dream that I met him!" she giggled. "I know. And it was pure luck that at our first con we got him in an elevator!" Gaara said, adding to Hinata's excitement.

The teacher walked into the room, so Hinata calmed down. But the thing he was about to say next was going to get her excited again.

"Class, I want to know: Are you getting a little bored out of all the usual stuff happening in class every day?" he asked out of the blue. Everyone answered an urgent 'YES', making a few of them laugh. "Well I have good news for you: I got permission from the principal to have a class performance of my favorite musical/plays ever: The Phantom Of The Opera."

Gaara glanced at Hinata when he heard 'Phantom of the Opera'. He knew that that was Hinata's absolute favorite movie ever. She looked to him and gave him the biggest smile that he's ever seen. "You hear that? I _love_ the Phantom of the Opera!" she laughed a bit.

The teacher walked near the window, where under the sill sat a small hat with the names of all the characters. "Now, in this hat are the names of all the characters. The person you pick is the part you play. No pressure, and girls, if you get a guys part and vice versa, you stick with that part. Okay, I'm starting with-"

"Cool, I got Raoul." A voice said from the window.

The room got silent for a while, staring at a certain blonde haired, blue eyed, Hinata's boyfriend Deidara, who was standing at the window holding the piece of paper in his hand. "…" The teacher was discussing in his mind whether to tell this kid to get out or let him stay because he was good looking and seemed like the perfect person to play the part of Raoul. That mouthful of a second choice won.

Deidara spotted Hinata near the back of the room and grinned. "Hinata! There you are!" he jumped in through the window and casually walked up to her. "D-Deidara, wh-what are you doing here!?" Hinata asked. "You forgot something at the base, so I came here to give it to you! Don't worry, I dressed for the part!" Deidara gestured to his uniform, which was actually one of the uniforms from Bleach.

Deidara only smiled at her. "So here's your iPod. You got cool songs in there." He handed her the iPod and kissed her on the head. "Should I be going now? Or is there some kind of rehearsal after they pick parts? I really hope you get the part of Christine." He looked to the teacher who had a somewhat flustered look. "Uh… Y-Yes, you can stay. Go ahead, we'll be discussing the play after we pick parts."

Surprisingly, of all the people in the class, and how Hinata and Gaara were in the back of the room, Hinata got the part of Christine while Gaara got the part of the Phantom. It was creepy how fate worked.

Lunch was getting pretty close, so Deidara, Hinata, and Gaara made their way to the lunchroom, trying to ignore the small crowd of girls following them. It disturbed Gaara, worried Hinata, and creeped Deidara out. He wrapped an arm around Hinata almost protectively.

"Hinata's so lucky to have a boyfriend like that…" A pink haired girl said enviously (hint: It's Sakura)

"He's good looking _and_ kind! He came all the way from wherever he lives just to give Hinata her iPod!" another girl, TenTen gushed, a sparkle in her eye.

"And she's surrounded by two guys who love her!" Ino mentioned. "Who, Gaara?" Sakura asked. "Duh, isn't it obvious?" Little did the three girls know that the people they're talking about could hear them clearly.

Gaara turned dark red, glancing at Hinata. She didn't seem to notice. Instead, she said, "Gosh, I'm hungry. How about you two?" she looked at Deidara and Gaara. "Yeah. I didn't even eat breakfast…" Deidara fake-sobbed, clutching his stomach. "Oh, why not?" Hinata asked worriedly. "I wanted to eat your cooking, and I was tired of the usual instant ramen!"

They reached the lunchroom and sat at a table. "Man, what luck… we got the main parts and the most lines… we're not even good at singing!" Gaara said in a disappointed tone, ripping up the piece of paper with the name of his part: The Phantom.

"It's not so bad… it's just a little change to free us from boredom in school. I think it's a great idea!" Hinata said, smiling. "Yeah, 'cause you love the movie… You've memorized almost every song!" Gaara looked over the script. Almost all of it was singing. He sighed. "Well I'm glad _you're_ happy! I'm gonna humiliate myself out there!" he yelled. Hinata laughed.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." Deidara said. "Easy for you to say! Can you sing?" Gaara asked. "I'm not saying I'm the best, but I'm not that bad at it…" Deidara said humbly, scratching the back of his head.

The intercom turned on and the teacher spoke. "Will the cast of the Phantom Of The Opera please report back to the classroom after lunch, thank you." There was a clicking sound and the intercom was off.

Hinata, Gaara, and Deidara stood up. "Might as well go now." Deidara said, heading towards the door to the lunchroom. Their stalkers stayed in the lunchroom.

-:-

Sure, he had heard her sing a couple of times, but that was only when she wasn't even trying, or just being funny. But this time… this time, her voice was absolutely _beautiful._ Gaara stared at her as she sang on stage, mesmerized by her amazing talent of singing.

Wait.

I'm sure that you are wondering where that small paragraph above is coming from. Well, it is now after lunch, and the class was reviewing the parts.

"Let's start with introducing our very own Raoul." The teacher gestured to Deidara, who stood up and bowed slightly. "You can call me Deidara. I'm Hinata's boyfriend and… that's really all I wish to share about myself." He laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Alright, Deidara, you may have a seat, and we'll start by practicing our singing."

The teacher pointed to Hinata and told her to stand up. "Hinata, why don't you start with 'Think of Me'." He said, reading from the script. Hinata nodded hesitantly and began singing.

Which brings us to that first paragraph of which I wrote not too long ago. The first paragraph of this section of the chapter.

"She's wonderful…" Deidara sighed, staring thoughtfully at Hinata. "Yeah…" Gaara agreed. Hinata smiled at them when she finished the song, turning red when she heard the small round of applause from the others.

"Aww… Hinata, that was awesome!"

"I almost fell asleep… but in a good way."

"That was beautiful, Hinata!"

Hinata blushed as she sat back down. "N-No, come on guys, it wasn't that great…" she said, playing with her fingers shyly. Deidara pulled her into a hug. "That was great, Hinata!" he said, kissing her head. "Th-Thank you…" she responded softly.

Next it was Deidara, and then Gaara, both of which showing a bit of singing talent that no one knew they had. Gaara was a special surprise, because no one has ever heard him sing. The three left the school leaving the sounds of clapping and cheering in their wake.

"Welcome back, you three. How was your stay in an actual school, Deidara?" Sasori was sitting on the couch, reading the new volume of D. Gray Man. "It was… fun. I got one of the main parts in a play." Deidara said casually. Sasori raised his brow slightly in curiosity. "A play? Hinata, what part did you get?" He asked Hinata. She turned a bit red and smiled.

"I got the part of Christine… from the Phantom of the Opera." She seemed almost proud of the part she was playing. "The Phantom of the Opera, huh? That's cool. I remember seeing the movie. I loved it so much I made myself a costume." Sasori stood up and walked to his room, walking out wearing a cape and a mask that covered half of his face. "It was one of the very few things I got obsessed with that wasn't anime." He laughed a little.

"That's so cool! Gaara got the part of the Phantom, you know!" Hinata excitedly took the cape and wrapped it around Gaara, making him turn red. "The mask goes here… oh, but the eye patch is blocking it a little. Can you remove it?" Hinata asked. "No… my eye looks weird without the patch…" Gaara grumbled, taking the mask in his hand and looking at it carefully.

He turned around and removed the eye patch, putting on the mask and turning around again. Hinata gasped dramatically, making the other three jump in surprise.

"That… That looks…" she stuttered. Deidara and Sasori waited for her to continue, Gaara just a little confused.

"You look so… AWESOME!!" she squealed. The three sighed, not believing how nerdy she was being about this.

"I'm so glad that you're going to be the phantom! Oh! Oh! Say that one part… what was it, oh! 'The Mirror!' sing that please!" Hinata held both his hands in hers and squeezed them gently with excitement. "No. I suck." Gaara said flatly. Hinata looked disappointed for a second, which made Gaara sing it anyway.

When the song ended, Hinata hugged him tightly. "I should've video taped that!" she said. "Uh huh. I'm not doing that again until rehearsal tomorrow." Gaara said gruffly, taking off the mask and trading it for his eye patch.

"Let's stay here for a little bit and rehearse then, alright?" Hinata said, reaching in her backpack for her script. "…If you want to." Gaara said, following her to the couch. Hinata giggled and smiled at him. "Okay! Thanks!" Gaara only smiled back, the mood that was starting being interrupted when Deidara sat beside Hinata and kissed her.

-:-

Yes, the Phantom of the Opera.

Yes, Gaara's the phantom, Hinata's Christine, and Deidara's Raoul.

No, I don't know how I'll pull it off, but I will.

Yes, I'd like the cheeseburger with fries.

No pickles.

Bye, and sorry again for the long wait for this chapter.


	8. Rehearsal

ANNOUNCEMENT: My first Yaoi Anime/Manga: Junjo Romantica.

-:-

_Anywhere you go let me go too…_

_Love me, that's all I ask of you…_

Deidara and Hinata hugged each other as they finished the song. Gaara and Sasori clapped. "Very good, very good. Now, Gaara, you sing the reprise and then we can take a break." Sasori said, suddenly the director. Gaara sighed in annoyance. "Can't we take a break _now_ and skip all singing parts that have me in it?" he asked.

Hinata gripped his shoulders and started shaking him. "You can't be unmotivated now! I _love_ your singing voice! Just that song and we'll take a break, okay!?" she begged. "Okay, okay. Reeeally quick." Gaara looked over the script and began to sing.

_I gave you my music,_

_Made your song take wing,_

_And now, how you've repaid me,_

_Denied me and betrayed me_

_He was bound to love you_

_When he heard you sing…_

_Christine…_

Softly, Deidara and Hinata started to sing 'All I Ask of You' to give it effect.

_You will curse the day you did not do_

_All that the phantom asked of you!_

Gaara looked at Hinata and Deidara and laughed. The three heard a small sob come from Sasori. "Gaara… I had no idea you were a great actor! I could feel the heartbreak –the heartbreak of you losing the one you love to someone else! Oh, the tragedy!" he struck a dramatic pose. _You have no idea._ Gaara thought.

"Can we take that break now?" Gaara asked. "Sure."

-:- SUDDEN SPECIAL AUTHOR'S NOTE -:-

Hinata spends her Sundays with her family, just so you know. ;)

-:- Suddenly two days before main show -:-

Hinata took a deep breath. After about two or three weeks of practicing with the group and everyone, it was now two days before the show starts. It was pretty exciting. Though, through these two or three weeks, there was one thing she _didn't_ practice, not even with Deidara: The kissing scenes.

Sure, the kissing was fine if it was with Deidara/Raoul, but there was this one _serious_ make-out scene between Christine/Hinata and the Phantom/Gaara. And practicing that would be awkward… especially since she was already going out with Deidara. But acting was just acting, right? She remembered once that her father said 'Acting is being'.

_Flashback lol_

"Hinata, in showbiz, there is only one thing that they've taught me: Acting is _being_. If you don't _become_ the person you need to be for the show, the whole thing will crumble at your feet." Hiashi Hyuga had a seven-year-old Hinata sitting on his lap in the living room. It was one of those 'father-daughter' moments that actually become useful later on in life.

A cute, seven-year-old Hinata nodded earnestly, listening intently to one of her father's life teachings. "Acting is being!" she repeated. Hiashi chuckled and patted his daughter's head. "I remember my acting career… that's how I met your mother, you know." Hinata looked at her father with interest; she wanted to hear the story –again.

"Well, it was the musical, _The Phantom of the Opera_- I was the phantom, she was Christine. Even though it was Raoul –you know who he is, right?- that she fell in love with in the story, it was me that she fell in love with in real life. I loved her too, so we got married. We stopped our acting careers there, and then we had a very bad-tempered boy named Neji," Hiashi heard Neji yell 'What!?' from the kitchen and laughed a bit. "A cute little girl named Hinata," he poked Hinata on the nose; she giggled. "and then a little troublemaker named Hanabi."

Hinata kissed her father on the cheek and giggled. "I lub you daddy!" she said cutely. "I love you too."

_End flashback lol_

"Hinata…"

Hinata continued to stare into space as she remembered fond memories of when she was a kid.

"Hinata…?"

She totally ignored her surroundings.

"Hinata!"

This last call made Hinata jolt in surprise. She turned slightly and sighed to see Deidara sitting beside her. He laughed. "You zone out there? We really need to get practicing, so try not to do that a lot." Deidara kissed her cheek.

They were practicing at the Akatsuki base again, just the three of them. Sasori went out to get sewing supplies that he needed, Konan and Pein went out on a date, Kakuzu, Hidan, Itachi, Tobi, and Kisame all went out to mess around the town for no apparent reason, all of which left Deidara, Hinata, and Gaara alone in the Akatsuki base.

"Jeez, it's already two days before the program!" Deidara slapped a hand to his forehead and leaned back, tired. "Nervous?" Gaara asked. "Totally. It's like, what if I mess up entirely and ruin the whole play, y'know?" Deidara laughed a bit. "Now you're making me nervous…" Hinata said. "Don't worry, we'll do fine!" Deidara held a thumbs up sign and winked at her. _…coming from the guy who said he was scared of messing up…_ Gaara and Hinata thought.

There was a short silence, all three of them looking over the script. Then Deidara spoke. "Hey, have we done anything about those kissing scenes?" he looked at Gaara, and then Hinata, who turned dark red. "No, I don't think so." Gaara answered, turning a light pink as well. "Oh. You think we should practice those?" Deidara looked to Hinata for permission. "W-W-Well… I-I th-think that… we've been… p-putting those parts off for a long time… so…" She shyly played with her fingers and looked downward. Deidara hugged her tightly and shook her around. "You're so cute!!" he gushed, kissing her everywhere.

"Cut it out, Deidara. We know you already have those kissing parts down, but what about me?" Gaara said angrily. Deidara gave him a confused and somewhat disgusted look. "You want me to kiss _you?_ Ew! No thanks!" he said. "No, you idiot! I meant the scene when Christine kisses the Phantom! Near the end, page 30." Gaara held up the part of the script he meant and pointed to it. In Times New Roman font in big letters that were meant to taunt, was the phrase **Christine kisses the Phantom.**And the teacher expressed to them that when that happened it was supposed to be our version of 'making out.'

"I see… well then, we'll have to just cancel the whole thing. I can't have someone kissing my girlfriend in front of a bunch of people, now can I?" Deidara tightly wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulder. "O-Oh come on, Deidara… it's just acting, right Gaara?" Hinata looked to Gaara and smiled a little. He paused, then nodded. "Sure." he noticed Deidara giving him a small glare from the corner of his eye.

"See? All acting. There's nothing to worry about!" Hinata stood up and stretched. "I'm sure that we'll pull it off… somehow." She laughed a bit. "Who's hungry?" she walked towards the kitchen. "I'm in the mood for sandwiches right now." Deidara said, smiling. "Me too. How 'bout you, Gaara?" Hinata looked to Gaara. He shrugged. "Extra cheese." Hinata giggled. "Okay. I'll be right back then."

Deidara's smile faded when the door to the kitchen closed. "'Sure', it's acting." He repeated suddenly, glaring at Gaara. "Great, why are _you_ pissed?" he asked. "The Phantom of the Opera's situation is a lot more similar to our situation than you might think." Deidara muttered. "Are you implying that I'll never get Hinata as a girlfriend?" Gaara asked haughtily, leaning back onto t he couch. The usual action he takes when he's close to getting pissed. "What if I am?" the two glared at each other.

Hinata came back from the kitchen and placed a plate with three sandwiches on the coffee table. "Sorry I took so long. I had trouble finding the bread (which was in the breadbox, but…)" she laughed awkwardly. "Ah, Hinata, your finger's bleeding." Gaara said. Deidara gasped dramatically. "BLOOD!" he yelled. "Call the hospital! My girl's bleeding!" Hinata calmed him down and said to just get a band aid. Deidara snapped up from the couch and ran into the bathroom to find band aids (which he wasn't sure the Akatsuki had).

Gaara looked at Hinata and then her finger. "It's bleeding a lot for a small cut." He said, moving to sit beside her. "Oh… well, it was a butter knife…" Hinata laughed a little. Suddenly, Gaara took her finger and put it in his mouth, sucking the blood away. Hinata was surprised for a moment, but then turned red. The two didn't say anything, nor did they mention that Gaara was imitating the Gaara from Naruto.

He removed the finger and gently wiped it with his shirt. "Sorry. I'm suddenly a vampire." He muttered awkwardly, looking up only to realize that their faces were inches apart. "Uh…" without knowing it they were leaning closer to each other. Their lips brushed against each other before they heard the door to the bathroom open.

"Hinata! I found one!" he sang, walking over to the two on the couch. He took off the wrapping and wound the band aid over the small cut and kissed her. "Thank you." Hinata smiled at him. There was a short silence. "So where were we in practice?" Gaara asked. "U-Um… I don't know…" Hinata fumbled with the script, flipping through the pages. "Oh, I remember. We were at the point where the Phantom had Christine choose between him and Raoul." Deidara said, stopping Hinata from turning the page.

"Here?" she asked.

"No, after that." Deidara pointed to where it was Gaara's turn to talk.

"Okay. Let's start from here. When he talks."

"_You drive my patience. Make your choice."_ Gaara said in a harsh tone, wrapping his hand around Deidara's neck to substitute for the rope that wasn't there. Hinata took a deep breath and started to sing.

_Pitiful creature of darkness… _

_What kind of life have you known?_

_God give me courage to show you_

_You are not alone!_

She paused. Deidara and Gaara looked at her, and then the script. Then the two of them (Hina and Gaara) turned red. **Christine kisses the Phantom**.

Hinata looked to Deidara. He just smiled. "Just hurry it up. I won't watch. It's only acting, _right?_" Deidara slightly glared at Gaara before sliding behind the couch. _Wow. I can't believe he's actually letting me do this._ Gaara cleared his throat. "So… Maybe just start again from when you sing and then…" You have no idea how awkward this was. Hinata nodded slowly and sang the verse again. When she finished, the two leaned into a kiss.

_Only acting, only acting, only acting…_ Hinata said to herself over and over again as Gaara pulled her a little closer. _Only… acting…_ her thoughts were becoming clouded as they kissed. Gaara wrapped his arms around her, which wasn't really part of the script. _Screw the script…_ he told himself. Before they could get any farther in the kiss, Hinata remembered that she had a boyfriend. Reluctantly, she pulled away. They stared into each other's eyes for a minute.

Gaara tried saying something, but found that he couldn't. _Oh god… I'm getting drunk on her taste…_ he tightly gripped the script and looked at it. He quickly got back into character and began singing again, giving Deidara the signal to get back up.

_Take her, forget me, forget all of this!_

_Leave me alone, forget all you've seen!_

_Go now, don't let them find you!_

_Take the boats, swear to me, never to tell,_

_The secrets you know of the angel in hell!_

The three knew that here in the background would be the chorus singing to the Phantom in a haunting voice.

_Go now! Go now and leave me!_

There was a short pause that the teacher said was necessary.

…_Masquerade, paper faces on parade…_

_masquerade, hide your face so the world will never find you…_

_Christine, I love you._

Here, Hinata was supposed to give back the ring that Gaara gave her earlier before leaving with Raoul on the boat. To substitute, Hinata gave him a sandwich (the one she prepared earlier), the three of them holding back giggles.

_(Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime _

_say the word and I will follow you…_

_stay each day with me each night each moment…)_

_You alone can make my song take flight…_

_It's over now the music of the night!_

And it was here that Gaara was supposed to break the mirrors in the Phantom's hideout, giving him 21 years of bad luck from the three mirrors he broke. (One mirror broken equals seven years of bad luck, I believe).

And it was this scene that ended the play.

-:-

_No one would listen_

_No one but her_

_Heard as the outcast here…_

_Shamed into solitude…_

_Shunned by the multitude_

_I learned to listen_

_In my dark my heart heard music_

_I longed to teach the world_

_Rise up and reach the world_

_No one would listen_

_I alone could hear the music_

_Then at last that voice in the gloom_

_Seemed to cry 'I hear you_

_I hear your fears _

_Your torment and your tears'_

_She saw my loneliness_

_Shed in my emptiness_

_No one would listen_

_No one but her_

_Heard as the outcast here…_

_No one would listen_

_No one but her_

_Heard as the outcast here…_

In class, the teacher said that this was the extra song in The Phantom Of The Opera that he found on YouTube. He told Gaara that he should sing this at the end of the play. "You're a smart boy, you'll get it before tomorrow night." It took all Gaara had to stop from killing their teacher right then and there. Why did he decide to give him more work right _now_ of all times!?

After class, Gaara and Hinata went to their locker. "Stupid! I can't memorize a song in two days!" he yelled. "Yeah you can. We both memorized the Hare Hare Yukai Dance in a day and a half." Hinata said. "And if we can memorize a whole dance in a day and a half, you can certainly memorize a short song in less than two." She added, gathering all her books in her backpack. Gaara punched the locker closed. "Can you lay off the contradictions for one day please?" the two walked down the hall and into the room that read 'study hall' on the door.

Gaara took out those lyrics and read them over. "No one would listen… well jeez, people are seriously rude to not listen to anybody!" Just then, a familiar person wearing all green walked by to say 'hi'. "Go away, Lee." Gaara said, not listening. Hypocrite. Hinata laughed a bit. "Rude, huh? Why do you hate Rock Lee so much?" she asked. "He's too smart. And really, he's just too narrow minded. I hate people like that." Gaara leaned on the table and ran a hand through his red hair. "And he keeps saying that my hair's not natural."

Hinata laughed. Gaara pulled on his hair to show her. "Does this look unnatural to you!? It's not my fault that my mom and dad's brown hair turned out red in their lovechild!" he yelled. "And he keeps saying that I'm emo and that I put on eyeliner! I even rubbed my eyes and nothing smudged! He's so stupid!! Graah!" when Gaara was like this, it wasn't long until they were kicked out of the classroom. The two just hung out on the school grounds until their next class started.

They sat at an outside table and just talked. "I mean, do I _look_ like I cry to myself while drawing pictures with a knife into my arm!? Look!" he held up his arm as an example. "This scar is because I fell off my porch while listening to my iPod!" he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a small red line on his shoulder. "This was from when I was in the kitchen! I grazed my shoulder against a cupboard corner while I was listening to my iPod!" he rolled back his sleeve and ran his hands through his hair. "It's like whenever you listen to your iPod you get hurt…" Hinata laughed a bit.

"And here's the _best_ part- whenever I tell Lee 'Go away! I hate you!' he always comes back anyway! I don't know how you can be so tolerant of everything, Hinata!" Gaara yelled. "Well… just think that there's a good reason for whatever he does. That's what TenTen does." Hinata said calmly. "Is there a good reason to accuse people of being unnaturally red-headed!?" Gaara retorted, folding his arms across his chest. "Hm. No." Hinata answered plainly.

There was a small silence, and Gaara started to calm down a bit. He stared at Hinata for a while, watching the wind blow through her hair, and for a few minutes she looked like a model sent by God to pose for a picture. In other words she looked like an angel. He turned red as he took a picture with his mind. _How did she feel when I kissed her yesterday?_ He wondered. "Hey… Hinata?" he started, getting ready to ask her. _How does she really feel about me?_

"Calmed down, I see." Hinata laughed a bit, turning slightly to face him. "Hinata…" Gaara started again. "Yes?" Hinata listened attentively to him. "A-About yesterday…" he told himself, _if she shows any bit of shyness or blushes, she might like me._ His heart almost stopped in surprise when she turned a dark red. "U-Uh huh? What about yesterday?" She asked shyly. Gaara bit his lip before speaking again. "Wh…What did you feel… when… I k-kissed you?" he eagerly awaited her answer as she thought about it.

Hinata showed about five different facial expressions before settling on her classic blush and fidget routine that Gaara thought was very,_ very _cute. _Is it wrong to think that a kiss felt good if it's not from your boyfriend?_ This was the thing that she was debating in her mind. She didn't really want to keep him waiting for an answer, so she glanced up at him and said "I-I don't know what I felt… it felt… good, but… but I a-already have someone that I…" she trailed off.

_I know she likes me, but… she's stuck in the thought that Deidara is the one for her._ Gaara frowned noticeably. "Why do you ask?" Hinata asked, noting that he wasn't happy at all at what she said. "I was just… wondering." Gaara mumbled. "Okay… the bell's about to ring. Want to go inside now?" Hinata stood up, her bag in her hand. Gaara did the same and began walking. "Sure." He muttered, not bothering to see if she was still behind him. Hinata now knew that he was angry.

-:-

_**Gaara has signed in**_

_**Hina-chan has signed in**_

_Hina-chan: Hey I heard they made Lucky Star in English dub_

_Gaara: hm_

_Hina-chan: … and there's a box set that includes a shirt and two character CDs and stuff._

_Gaara: that's nice._

_Hina-chan: … are you mad? _

_Gaara: yeah why?_

_Hina-chan: waddaya mean why? Are you mad at me?_

_Gaara: …you can say that_

_Hina-chan: sorry… did I do something wrong?_

_Gaara: not exactly_

_Hina-chan: not exactly?_

_Gaara: like… you didn't do anything wrong, its just that im mad at you for it_

_Gaara: so I guess I'm the one who did something wrong._

_Hina-chan: what did I do to make you angry?_

_Gaara: … you know how I told you that I was totally against you and Deidara going out? Well… you two are dating now and… I'm still kinda totally against it_

_Hina-chan: oh… im sorry… but its not like I can just break up with him just so u can stop being mad at me…_

_Hina-chan: Well I can, its just that I wont_

_Gaara: I know. Its just that right now im venting so… yeah. Sorry if I take it out on you tomorrow, you know how I get_

_Hina-chan: Okay. Sorry again…_

_Gaara: stop apologizing, its my fault for getting mad _

_Gaara: see ya tomorrow_

_**Gaara has signed out**_

Hinata paused, reading over their conversation again before signing out as well.

-:-

and the new Kingdom Hearts II manga (vol. 2) is out

and Tsubasa vol. 17

and other updates I forgot to mention.

Sorry for the long wait…


	9. The Play

"Hinata

I'm not sure if I did this chapter right… sorry if it looks too long, you can skip the song parts… only if you feel like it, though and stuff… meh. I only put in the songs anyway, not the others. I'm getting the feeling that this is going to be more than only ten pages… **I RECOMMEND READING THIS WHEN YOU HAVE TIME TO READ A LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG CHAPTER!!** Call me over paranoid, but I've read incredibly long fanfictions before, and my eyes hurt afterwards, so I don't want to be responsible for any dead eyes. x.x so beware lol

Also, this'll be hard to understand (Or spoiler-ish) if you haven't watched the movie. And I will NOT put up the song 'Prima Donna' because… it's like my least favorite song and shit…

DISCLAIMER: It's a bit late, but I do not own The Phantom of the Opera.

-:-

Hinata and Gaara met at the school gates earlier than usual. Like, really earlier than usual. They were almost half an hour early. Gaara had called Hinata that morning and told her to meet him at school ASAP. She did, and the two sat across from each other at the same table they sat at yesterday. The thing they were going to talk about was their conversation from yesterday. Well, at least, that's what he said.

"Sorry about yesterday." Gaara said. "That's okay. I just wanna know what you don't like about me going out with Deidara." Hinata glanced up at him from where she was and smiled a little. "Well, for one thing, I don't trust him at all, and you know how sometimes I'm suddenly protective of you and stuff…" Gaara trailed off, avoiding eye contact. Hinata nodded. "And… I know that you're not so sure that you love him as much as you say you do…" She looked offended for a second, but being the patient person she was told him to continue. "And… I don't know, he just gives off a bad vibe on me, y'know?" Gaara finished lamely, muttering a short 'sorry' for before.

Hinata laughed a bit. "Is this really something that's going to take half an hour to talk about?" she asked, grinning. "I'm being serious here, you can't laugh!" Gaara leaned forward a bit, turning pink in embarrassment. "I'm kidding. It's just I'm never comfortable in complete seriousness, is all." There was an awkward pause, the two of them waiting for the other to say something. "Well?" Gaara said. "Well what? Oh! Was I supposed to respond to what you said a few minutes ago?" Hinata asked in surprise. Gaara groaned and slammed his head on the table. "S-Sorry!"

She cleared her throat a little. "Well, what's there not to trust about Deidara?" she asked. "What's there _to_ trust about him?" Gaara retorted. "That's a good question." Hinata laughed a bit, stopping when she saw Gaara giving her a 'stop laughing or I'll kill you' look. "You don't trust him either!" he yelled. "Sure, he's not _reliable_, but I still love him. He's just so sweet to me and it makes me feel happy." She turned a light pink and giggled a bit at the thought.

_I can be sweet._ Gaara thought to himself. _**If you tried hard enough. Haha!**_ Oh dear. Look whose back. _Not now. Not while I'm talking to her._ Gaara knew that he had a distant look whenever he talked to Shukaku. _**You know its true. Kuku…**_ Gaara mentally sighed and turned his attention back to Hinata.

"And I know that I love Deidara very much. I can bet my life on that." She said firmly. Gaara looked her straight in the eye. This was a test; if she couldn't say that she loved Deidara that she could die to prove it while looking him in the eye, it was total BS.

"Say that again, only this time look me in the eye instead of at the table." He gently commanded. Hinata hesitantly looked into his eyes. "I love… Deidara very much. I… I can bet my life on that." She sounded so unsure about that. "Hmph. I thought so." Gaara smirked a bit, suddenly looking very attractive to Hinata. "Wh-What did you think!? You know I stutter whenever I make awkward eye contact with someone!" She stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "You didn't stutter. You just took long pauses between phrases." Hinata turned a dark red.

"You're not sure, are you!" Gaara said accusingly. "Shut up!" Hinata took her bag and started to walk away. But Gaara grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. He hugged her and held her hand, letting their fingers interlace. "What happened to when we used to hold hands like this on our walks home?" Hinata was blushing an extremely dark red by now. She didn't answer. "What happened to when I first kissed you?" his breath tickled her ear. It wasn't long until he had (unintentionally) intoxicated her with… well whatever it was he was doing. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the sensation was similar to flying.

Though, the feeling left as soon as it came. Gaara had stopped hugging her and was now walking back to the table to get his bag. "Sorry. I forgot that you were still taken." He muttered. He started walking away ahead of her, but felt a familiar sensation in his hands. He looked to his side and saw that Hinata was holding his hand. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. "This is just an apology. I promise to hold your hand and hug you more often." She said, giggling a bit. Gaara smiled, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"D-Don't do that… people might get the wrong idea." Hinata said, not meaning any harm. "Oh! A-Alright. S-S-Sorry." Gaara stumbled over his words. _**You're so lame. **__Shut up. _

-:-

"Hinata! Hey, am I late?" Deidara waved a hand in the air as he ran towards Hinata, who was standing at the entrance to the stage –the place where everyone was going to rehearse the whole play for the last time before the performance. "N-No, actually we were going to get started right now." She gave him a quick kiss before turning back to the stage. "We're just rehearsing one more time, right? With the music and everything?" Deidara asked, wrapping an arm around her. "Uh huh."

"Alright everyone, from the top! In your places, come on, quickly!" The teacher directed. Everyone scrambled on stage, Hinata, Deidara, and Gaara waiting backstage. Then the teacher gave them the signal to start. "Okay, now Carlotta will start singing here, and then Christine after she quits…" the person playing Carlotta began to sing, and the start of rehearsal began. Soon it was Hinata's turn to sing.

_Think of me,  
__Think of me fondly when we've said goodbye  
__Remember me once in a while please promise me you'll try  
__Then you'll find, that once again you long to take our heart back and be free  
__If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me…_

--

_We never said our love was evergreen  
__Or as unchanging as the sea  
__But if you can still remember  
__Stop and think of me_

_Think of all the things we've shared and seen  
__Don't think about the way things might have been  
__Think of me, think of me waking silent and resigned  
__Imagine me, trying too hard to put you from my mind  
__Recall those days, think back on all those times,  
__Think of all the things we'll never do, there will never be a day when  
__I won't think of you!_

It was the night of the performance, and so far it had been going very well. Hinata could hear Deidara singing from behind her. You see, the thing they did was similar to a spotlight. It moved to Deidara, who was watching from a small balcony behind the front part of the stage.

_Can it be?  
__Can it be Christine?_

_Bravo!_

_Long ago, it seems so long ago  
__How young and innocent we were!  
__She may not remember me, but I remember her._

_Flowers fade, the fruits of summer fade,  
__They have their seasons, so do we  
__But please promise me that sometimes  
__You will think…_

Hinata took a deep and silent breath and started hitting various notes that all lead to the word 'of'.

_Of me!!_

The audience clapped joyously at her performance. But a little afterwards, they quickly set up for the scene for the song 'Angel of Music'.

_He's with me even now…_

_-Your face, Christine, it's white._

…_It frightens me,_

_-don't be frightened…_

Hinata and Ino (who was playing Meg, Christine's friend) scurried off stage, holding each other in excitement as they watched Deidara on stage. "Hinata, your boyfriend is so handsome!" Ino said, trying to get a small conversation started between them before Hinata had to go back onstage. "Uh… thanks? Haha, okay, I gotta go get ready now."

Hinata quickly got into character and walked out onstage and sat at the dresser with a mirror. Meg's mother, Madame Giry, told her what a great job she did singing in the performance that night. And after, when she was left alone, the lights dimmed and Gaara's voice sang from behind the big mirror in the back (not that anyone in the audience could see).

_Insolent boy, this slave of fashion,  
__Basking in your glory!  
__Ignorant fool, this brave young suitor  
__Sharing in my triumph!_

Hinata turned towards the mirror.

_Angel I hear you, speak, I listen  
__Stay by my side, guide me  
__Angel my soul was weak, forgive me  
__Enter at last, master._

_Flattering child you shall know me,  
__See why in shadow I hide,  
__Look at your face in the mirror,  
__I am there inside!_

_Angel of music, guide and guardian  
__Grant to me your glory  
__Angel of music, hide no longer  
__Come to me strange angel_

…_I am your angel of music_

_come to me angel of music…_

In the background, Deidara, Raoul, tried turning the knob on the door to the room, finding that it was locked. "What is that voice? Who is that in there? Christine!" the sounds of his attempts to open the door were heard as Hinata slowly walked towards Gaara in the mirror. When their hands touched, immediately the familiar tune of the Phantom of the opera played.

_In sleep he sang to me  
__In dreams he came  
__That voice which calls to me  
__And speaks my name_

_And do I dream again?  
__For now I find  
__The Phantom of the opera is there  
__Inside my mind…_

Gaara led Hinata through the dim lit halls of the phantom's underground hideaway.

_Sing once again with me!  
our strange duet  
__My power over you  
__Grows stronger yet!_

_And though you turn from me  
__To glance behind  
__The Phantom of the opera is there  
__Inside your mind!_

_Those who have seen your face  
__Draw back in fear  
__I am the mask you wear  
__-it's me they hear_

_Our spirit and my voice  
__In one combined  
__The Phantom of the opera is there  
__Inside my mind_

_He's there, the phantom of the opera_

_Aaaahh, (Sing, my angel of music), Aaahhh, (sing my angel) Aaaahhh, (Sing for me!) Aaaaahhhh, Aaaaaahhh, (Sing my angel! Sing for me!!) _

Gaara removed his cape and discarded it to the side. Hinata stared at him in awe, completely mesmerized by his voice- not in acting, but for real. She held back a blush as the play carried on.

_I have brought you,  
__To the seat of sweet music's throne  
__To this kingdom where all must pay homage to music_

_Music, you have come here  
__For one purpose and one alone  
__Since the moment I first heard you sing  
__I have needed you with me to serve me to sing_

_For my music, my music…_

Gaara stared at her, noticing that Hinata was blushing. Forcing back a smile, he continued, walking towards her and leading her up and around the stage that was set up to be the Phantom's living quarters.

_Nighttime sharpens,  
__Heightens each sensation  
__Darkness stirs and wakes imagination_

_Silently the senses  
__Abandon their defenses…_

_Slowly, gently,  
__Night unfurls its splendor_

_Grasp it, sense it,  
__Tremulous ad tender_

_Turn your face away  
__From the garish light of day  
__Turn your thoughts away  
__From cold, unfeeling light..._

_And listen to the music of the night…_

_Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams,  
__Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before  
__Close your eyes and let your spirit start to soar…  
__And you'll live as you've never lived before…_

He walked her up across the piano organ and let her stand there as he walked around the candles.

_Softly, deftly,  
__Music shall caress you_

_Hear it, feel it,  
__Secretly possess you_

_Open up your mind  
__Let your fantasies unwind  
__In this darkness that you know you cannot fight…_

_The darkness of the music of the night_

_Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world  
__Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before  
__Let your soul take you where you long to be  
__Only then can you belong to me…_

Gaara walked towards her again and wrapped his arms around her in a seductive way, his breath tickling Hinata's neck.

_Floating, falling  
__Sweet intoxication_

_Touch me,  
__Trust me,  
__Savor each sensation_

_Let the dream begin,  
__Let your darker side give in  
__To the power of the music that I write_

_The power of the music of the night._

He led her around a curtain and let it sway to the side, revealing a small mannequin that looked like Hinata dressed in a wedding dress. Hinata fell into his arms, pretending to faint, and he carried her towards the bed.

_You alone can make my song take flight…  
__Help me make the music of the…_

He caressed her face and let her lay there.

…_night…_

He drew the small curtain around the bed and left, the lights on the stage dimming into darkness.

-:-

Hinata acted to just wake up as a small tune began to play. She looked around for a rope to pull the curtain around her up and she walked away from the bed.

_I remember there was mist  
__Swirling mist upon vast glossy lake  
__There were candles all around  
__And on the lake there was a boat  
__And in the boat there was a man…_

She found Gaara sitting at an organ, writing music. He looked up, but not at her. Hinata walked a little closer to him, gently putting a hand on his shoulder.

_Who was that shape in the shadows  
__Whose is the face in the mask?_

Hinata removed the mask, and immediately Gaara shot up and covered the side of his face with his hand. Hinata backed away in surprise at this, fear –real fear- welling up inside her at the sudden anger towards her.

_Damn you!  
__You little prying Pandora!  
__You little demon!  
__Is this what you wanted to see!?_

Gaara removed his hand for a second to emphasize his point. He got a glance at the small hole that used to be his eye. Then he turned sharply back to Hinata and half-glared, seeing the fear in her eyes. He fought back the urge to tell her it was okay.

_Curse you!  
__You little lying Delilah!  
__You little viper!  
__Now you cannot ever be free!_

He knocked down a candle stand in fake anger, saying curses as he walked.

_Damn you!  
__Curse you!  
__Stranger than you dreamt  
__Can you even dare to look?  
__Or bear to think of me?_

_This loathsome gargoyle who burns in hell  
__But secretly yearns for heaven  
__Secretly, secretly…  
__Christine…_

He looked at the mannequin

_Fear can turn to love  
__You'll learn to see to find  
__the man behind the monster this  
__repulsive carcass who seems a beast  
__but secretly dreams of beauty _

_Secretly, secretly…_

_Oh Christine…_

Hinata looked at him sorrowfully before returning his mask to him. Gaara put it on and stood up. "Come, we must return. Those two fools who run the theatre will be missing you."

-:-

During the performance of Il Muto, Carlotta (played by Sakura Haruno) had to be replaced by Christine (Hinata) due to loss of voice. However, while they were setting up for this minor setback, one of the more scraggly stagehands were dropped and hanged from the top of the stage by the Phantom(Gaara), (It was a dummy, not a real person). And it was during all the commotion that Christine brought Raoul (Deidara) up to the roof to keep both of them safe from the murderous Phantom.

They quickly walked up the spiraling stairs towards the roof.

_Why have you brought me here?  
__We can't go back there  
__-we must return_

_He'll kill you,  
__His eyes will find us there,  
__-Christine, don't say that  
__Those eyes that burn  
-__Don't even think it _

_-If he has to kill a thousand men  
__Forget this waking nightmare  
__-The Phantom of the Opera will kill and kill again...  
__Believe me, there is no Phantom of the Opera…_

The two quickened their pace.

_(Both) My God, who is this man  
__Who hunts to kill?  
__(R) -This mask of death  
__(Christine) I can't escape from him  
__(R) Whose is this voice you hear  
__-I never will  
__(R) With every breath?_

_(B) -And in this labyrinth  
__Where night is blind  
__The Phantom of the Opera is there (Here)  
__Inside your (my) mind  
__There is no Phantom of the Opera…_

Hinata and Deidara walked a little farther onto the roof, Hinata moving back to close the door. Then she turned to Deidara, and in an almost pleading voice sang,

_Raoul, I've been there,  
__To his world of unending night  
__To a world where the daylight  
__Dissolves into darkness  
__Darkness…_

_Raoul I've seen him  
__Can I ever forget that sight?  
__Can I ever escape from that face?  
__So distorted, deformed,  
__It was hardly a face…  
__In that darkness… _

_Darkness…_

Hinata paced around as she sang, fear in her eyes once again. Deidara watched her calmly, trying to tell her that it was all a dream and that she was safe… with him.

_But his voice filled my spirit with a strange sweet sound  
__In that night there was music in my mind  
__And through music my soul began to soar  
__And I heard as I'd never heard before…  
__-What you heard was a dream and nothing more_

_Yet in his eyes  
__All the sadness of the world  
__Those pleading eyes  
__That both threaten and adore_

"Christine… Christine… Christine…" Deidara said in a soothing tone, walking towards Hinata. He touched her arm and felt her relax, the music playing as he did so.

_No more talk of darkness,  
__Forget these wide-eyed fears  
__I'm here, nothing can harm you  
__My words will warm and calm you_

_Let me be your freedom  
__Let daylight dry your tears  
__I'm here, with you beside you,  
__To guard you and to guide you..._

_(C)Say you love me  
__Every waking moment  
__Turn my head  
__With talk of summertime_

_Say you need me with you  
__Now and always  
__Promise me that all you say is true  
__That's all I ask of you_

_(R)-let me be your shelter  
__Let me be your light  
__You're safe, no one will find you  
__Your fears are far behind you_

_(C) All I want is freedom,  
__A world with no more night  
__And you always beside me  
__To hold me and to guide me_

_(R)Then say you'll share with me  
__One love, one lifetime,  
__Let me lead you  
__from your solitude_

_(R) Say you need me with you  
__Here beside you  
__Anywhere you go let me go too  
__Christine, that's all I ask of you!_

_(C) Say you'll share with me  
one love one lifetime  
__Say the word and I will follow you…_

_(B) Share each day with me each night each morning_

_(C) Say you love me_

_-You know I do…_

_Love me, that's all I ask of you…_

Deidara and Hinata kissed each other, the music of the song playing behind them. He gently held her face close to his. Gaara, who was standing behind a statue turned away, his heart broken and in disbelief. Deidara lifted Hinata off the ground and twirled her around, kissing her again. Then he pulled away and they both sang,

_Anywhere you go let me go too!  
__Love me, that's all I ask of you…_

They kissed one last time before Hinata said in a singing voice, "_I must go, they'll wonder where I am._" She told him softly to come with her, Deidara singing, "_Christine, I love you._" His eyes said, "Hinata, I love you." She smiled at him as they walked off the stage.

--

Gaara slowly emerged from behind the statue, standing in front of a rose that was near the tip of the stage. He picked it up and studied it.

_I gave you my music  
__Made your song take wing  
__And now, how you've repaid me  
__Denied me and betrayed me_

_He was bound to love you  
__When he heard you sing_

_Christine…_

He held the rose tightly and gently pressed it to his lips.

_(Say you'll share with me one love one lifetime  
__say the word and I will follow you…  
__share each day with me each night, each morning)_

Gaara dropped the rose, its petals floating away. He ran closer to the tip of the stage and sang in a deep, booming voice that dripped of anger,

_You will curse the day you did not do  
__All that the Phantom asked of you!_

The lights of the stage dimmed again into darkness, moving to the next scene.

-:-

Fireworks fired in the sky, illuminating the night with bright colors of red, yellow, and blue. Monsieur Andre (Sasuke) and Monsieur Fermin (Naruto) walked up in masks and hats, singing to each other their excitement of the Masquerade Ball to take place.

_(F) Dear Andre what a splendid party  
__The prologue to a bright new year  
__Quite a night, I'm impressed  
__Well, one does one's best_

_Here's to us  
__The toast of all the city  
__What a pity the Phantom can't be here!  
_

They walked into the building (or further down the stage) where the lights lit with life, most everybody dancing merrily, singing,

_Masquerade!  
__Paper faces on parade!  
__Masquerade!  
__Hide your face so the world will never find you!_

_Masquerade!  
__Every face a different shade!  
__Masquerade!  
__Look around there's another mask behind you!_

_Flash of mauve, splash of puce,  
__fool and king, ghoul and goose,  
__Faces! Take your turn,  
__Take a ride on the Merry-Go-Round!  
__-in an inhuman race_

_Eye of gold, thigh of blue,  
__True is false, who is who?  
__Curl of lip, swirl of gown  
__Ace of hearts, face of clown_

_Faces! Drink it in, Drink it up  
__Till you've drowned  
__In the light, in the sound  
__But who can name the face?_

_Masquerade!  
__Grinning yellows, spinning reds,  
__Masquerade!  
__Take your fill, let the spectacle astound you!_

_Masquerade!  
__Burning glances, turning heads,  
__Masquerade,  
__Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you_

_Masquerade,  
__Seething shadows, breathing lies,  
__Masquerade,  
__You can fool any friend who ever knew you!_

_Masquerade!  
__Leering satyrs, peering eyes!  
__Masquerade!  
__Run and hide but a face will still pursue you_

Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, and a few other people began walking down the stairs to take part of the lively celebration before them.

_What a night,  
__-what a crowd  
__makes you glad,  
__makes you proud,_

_All the crème de la crème  
__-watching us watching them  
__-Three months of relief  
__-of delight  
__-of Elysian peace  
__-and we can breathe at last  
__no more notes,  
__-no more ghost_

_Here's to health  
__-here's a toast to a prosperous year  
__-to our friends who are here  
__-and may our splendor never fade_

_What a blessed release!  
__And what a masquerade!  
_

Deidara and Hinata were entering the stage from the side. "_Think of it,_ A secret engagement… Look, your future bride. Just think of it…" the two stopped, and Deidara held her arms and looked her in the eyes. "But why is it secret? What have we to hide? You promised me." He tilted her head up to look at him and kissed her. "No, Raoul, please don't… they'll see." Hinata said cautiously. "Let them see. It's an engagement, not a crime." Deidara wrapped an arm around her as they began to walk again.

_Christine, what are you afraid of?_

_Let's not argue,  
__Please pretend  
__-I can only hope  
__You will understand in time  
__-I'll understand in time…_

The two began to dance on the floor with everyone else.

_Masquerade!  
__Paper faces on parade!  
__Masquerade!  
__Hide your face so the world will never find you!_

_Masquerade!  
__Every face a different shade!  
__Masquerade!  
__Look around there's another mask behind you!_

_Masquerade!  
__Burning glances, turning heads!  
__Masquerade!  
__Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you!_

_Masquerade!  
__Grinning yellows, spinning reds!  
__Masquerade!  
__Take your fill, let the spectacle astound you…_

Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and the music changed to announce the coming of the Phantom. The crowd turned towards the place where they were coming from. Gaara was standing at the top of the stairs.

_Why so silent, good messieurs?  
__Did you think that I had left you for good?  
__Have you missed me, good messieurs?  
__I have written you an opera!_

_Here I bring the finished score,  
__Don Juan Triumphant!_

Gaara threw the manuscript folder to the ground and drew his sword.

_Fondest greetings to you all,  
__A few instructions just before the rehearsal starts_

He walked up towards Sakura (Carlotta).

_Carlotta must be taught to act,  
__Not her normal trick of strutting round the stage,_

He turned to the man beside her (Carlotta's date)

_Our Don Juan must lose some weight,  
__It's not healthy of a man of Piangi's age._

He walked towards Sasuke and Naruto.

_And my managers must learn  
__That their place is in an office, not the arts._

He turned and pointed his sword at Hinata, then put the sword back in its sheath. Hinata's heart began to beat fast in her chest. Gaara walked towards her as he sang,

_As for our star,  
__Miss Christine Daae,_

_No doubt she'll do her best  
__Its true her voice is good  
__She knows, though_

_Should she wish to excel  
__She has much still to learn  
__If pride will let her return to me,  
__Her teacher… her teacher…_

The two stared into each other's eyes for a while, both slowly walking towards each other. Gaara looked over her face, spying her wedding ring around her neck. He grabbed it and ripped it off, and sang in a gruff voice,

_Your chains are still mine!  
__You belong to me!_

Gaara set himself on fire (not really lol) and managed to get away, disappearing from the crowd.

-:-

The next morning, Hinata lay in her bed at one of the dorms of the Opera house. She stared out a window for a few seconds before getting up. She put on a robe and sneaked out, meeting a wagon led by horses on the road. "To my father's grave, please." She said softly, taking a seat on the wagon.

Deidara just woke up and realized that Hinata was gone. He bolted outside and demanded where she went, the person there replying a short 'to the cemetery.'

The wagon arrived at the cemetery, and Hinata hopped off, walking through.

_You were once my one companion  
__You were all that mattered…  
__You were once a friend and father,  
__Then my world was shattered…_

_Wishing you were somehow here again  
__Wishing you were somehow near  
__Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed  
__Somehow you would be here…_

_Wishing I could hear your voice again,  
__Knowing that I never would  
__Dreaming of you won't help me to do  
__All that you dreamed I could_

_Passing bells and sculpted angels  
__Cold and monumental  
S__eem for you the wrong companions  
__You were warm and gentle_

_Too many years fighting back tears  
__Why can't the past just die?_

_Wishing you were somehow here again  
__Knowing we must say goodbye  
__Try to forgive  
__Teach me to live  
__Give me the strength to try_

_No more memories  
__No more silent tears  
__No more gazing across the wasted years…  
__Help me say goodbye… _

_Help me say goodbye…_

She sat at the steps that led to her father's grave, a sad look in her eye. She sat there in silence before a calming voice began to sing to her from the small building where her father was buried.

_Wandering child, so lost, so helpless,  
__Yearning for my guidance._

Hinata was (acting to be) confused, so she responded.

_Angel or father,  
__Friend or phantom?  
__Who is it there, staring?  
__-Have you forgotten your angel?_

_Angel, oh, speak  
__What endless longings  
__Echo in this whisper_

_Too long you've wandered in winter  
__Far from my fathering gaze  
__-Wildly my mind beats against you  
__you resist  
__-yet the soul obeys_

_(P) Angel of music, you denied me (I denied you)  
__Turning from true beauty  
__Angel of music, do not shun me (my protector)_

_Come to your strange angel_

_I am your angel of music…_

_Come to me, angel of music…_

Before Hinata could completely become entranced, Deidara appeared on stage and yelled, "Christine! Wait!" Hinata turned to look at him. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Whatever you believe, this man –this thing is not your father!" Hinata let out a small gasp as Gaara suddenly jumped down and began a sword fight with Deidara.

The two fought, swords clashing as they moved around the stage. All Hinata could do was watch in horror as the two men engaged in the intense fight. Suddenly Deidara's shoulder was grazed as Gaara attempted to strike a hit. He let out a yelp of pain before sending a counterattack that sent Gaara to the ground. Deidara kicked Gaara's sword away and pointed the tip of his sword at his face. He was about to deal the finishing blow when Hinata stopped him.

"No Raoul!" he looked at her. "Not like this." Deidara glared at Gaara before returning his sword to his sheath, leading Hinata to the back offstage. Gaara got up and took his sword, glancing to Deidara backstage. "Now, let it be war upon you both." He raised his cape as the lights dimmed and transitioned to the next scene.

-:-

Were we are in this story is when the opera house is performing 'Don Juan', written by the Phantom. It was both haunting and beautiful at the same time, and soon it was time for the act of 'The Point of No Return'.

"Master?"

"_Passarino_."

_Go away for the trap is set and waits for its prey…_

_You have come here  
__In pursuit of your deepest urge  
__In pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent_

Gaara pressed a finger to his lips.

_Silent…_

At the familiar voice Hinata turned her head slightly to look at who the owner of the voice was. She was beginning to feel entranced again as he sang.

_I have brought you  
__That our passions may fuse and merge  
__In your mind you've already succumbed to me  
__Dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me  
__Now you are here with me,  
__No second thoughts  
__You've decided…_

_Decided…_

Hinata stood up.

_(P) Past the point of no return  
__No backward glances  
__Our games of make-believe are at an end_

_Past all thought of 'if' or 'when'  
__No use resisting  
__Abandon thought and let the dream descend_

_What raging fire shall flood the soul?  
__What rich desire unlocks its door?  
__What sweet seduction lies before us? _

Gaara wrapped his arms tightly around Hinata, pulling her close. His hands caressed her body through her clothes, taking the breath right out of her.

_Past the point of no return  
__The final threshold  
__What warm unspoken secrets will we learn?  
__Beyond the point of no return…_

Hinata tried to slow her breathing and began to sing.

_You have brought me  
__To that moment when words run dry  
__To that moment when speech disappears into silence  
__Silence_

_I have come here  
__Hardly knowing the reason why  
__In my mind I have already imagined  
__Our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent  
__Now I am here with you  
__No second thoughts  
__I've decided…_

_Decided…_

This time Gaara's breath increased as he stared at her. He had a look of total lust in his eye, making the scene look more real.

_I don't like the look in his eye…_ Deidara thought as he watched from the balcony near the top of the stage.

_Past the point of no return  
__No going back now  
__Our passion play has now at last begun_

_Past all thought of right or wrong  
__One final question  
__How long should we two wait before we're one?_

_When will the blood begin to roast?_

The two began to climb up the spiral staircase to the top platform.

_The sleeping bud burst into bloom  
__When will the flames at last  
__Consume us?_

_Past the point of no return  
__The final threshold  
__The bridge is crossed  
__So stand and watch it burn _

_We're past the point of no return…_

Gaara's arms were around her once again, his hands over hers and moving all over her upper body.

There was a long pause for the music to play. Then Gaara started to sing again.

…_Say you'll share with me  
__One love, one lifetime  
__Lead me, save me from my solitude…_

Hinata's closed eyes opened at the familiar words.

_Say you want me with you  
__here beside you…_

Gaara turned Hinata around to face him and held her hands tightly in his.

_Anywhere you go let me go to  
__Christine, that's all I ask of…_

Hinata found an opening to remove his mask, and she did. The gesture cut off his singing and made dramatic music play. In the background, the sound of the crowd gasping was heard. Gaara for a second looked sad. Then he quickly got back to acting.

Gaara wrapped an arm around Hinata's waist, cutting a rope that opened a trap door in the platform. The two dropped through another trap door in the stage, the chandelier on the stage falling and causing a fake fire to the stage. He was running away with Hinata. (not literally, acting.)

--

_Down once more to the dungeons of my black despair  
__Down we plunge to the prison of my mind  
__Down that path into darkness deep as hell!_

_Why, you ask, was I bound and chained in this cold and dismal place  
__Not for any mortal sin, but the wickedness of my abhorrent face!_

Gaara glared back at her for a second before gathering her in his arms and carrying her the rest of the way down to his hideaway.

_(Track down this murderer he must be found!)_

_Hounded down by everyone,  
__Met with hatred everywhere,  
__No kind words from anyone,  
__No compassion anywhere, Christine!_

He gripped Hinata's shoulders tightly in front of the mannequin that resembled her.

…_Why?_

_Why!?_

_-_Deidara was being led by Madame Giry down to where she knew Gaara had taken Hinata. She stopped about halfway down, telling him that it was as far as she dare go. He thanked her, removing the blazer of his suit and walking more down the staircase. Through many obstacles he came, and finally he was getting close to where Hinata was.

_Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood?_

Hinata sang in a voice that hinted that she was angry.

_Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?_

Gaara turned to her, an evil smirk on his face.

_That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood  
__Has also denied me the joys of the flesh._

He reached to caress her face but she turned away.

_This face, the infection which poisons our love…_

_This face which earned a mother's fear and loathing  
__A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing!  
__Pity comes too late! Turn around and face your fate!_

He roughly placed the veil from the mannequin on Hinata's head.

_An eternity of this before your eyes..._

Gaara put a ring in her hand. Hinata looked up at him for a second before removing the veil and walking to a mirror.

_This haunted face holds no horror for me now.  
__It's in your soul that the true distortion lies._

Deidara finally arrived at the gate. Gaara noticed, announcing his arrival as so:

_Wait! I think my dear, we have a guest!_

Hinata turned to see and realized that it was Deidara there who was at the gate. "Raoul!" she exclaimed, worry rushing over her. Gaara walked up a small staircase.

_Sir, this is indeed an unparalleled delight.  
__I had rather hoped that you would come.  
__And now, my wish comes true  
__You have truly made my night._

Gaara wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulders, Hinata hissing a hoarse "Let me go." Angered, Deidara sang in a loud voice,

_Free her!  
__Do what you like only free her!  
__Have you no pity?_

"_Your lover makes a passionate plea."_ Gaara responded, saying it more to Hinata than Deidara. _"Please Raoul it's useless."_

_I love her!_ Deidara continued.

_Does that mean nothing?  
__I love her!  
__Show some compassion!_

_(P) The world showed no compassion to me!_

_(R)Christine, Christine, let me see her…_

_Be my guest, sir._

Gaara pulled a lever that raised the gate that separated them. Then he began to walk down towards Deidara.

_Monsieur, I bid you welcome.  
__Did you think that I would harm her?  
__Why would I make her pay  
__For the sins which are yours?!_

The gate suddenly closed again and Gaara wrapped a rope around Deidara's neck. Hinata let out a worried gasp as he tied Deidara to the gate.

_Order your fine horses now!  
__Raise up your hands at the level of your eyes!  
__Nothing can save you now  
__Except perhaps Christine!_

Gaara sharply turned to Hinata.

_Start a new life with me!  
__Buy his freedom with your love!  
Refuse me and you send your lover to his death!  
This is the choice! This is the Point of no Return!_

Hinata took a deep calming breath and responded to this.

_The tears I might have shed for your dark fate  
__Grow cold and turn to tears of hate!_

Gaara walked back to her as Deidara began singing to her.

_Christine, forgive me, please forgive me.  
__I did it all for you and all for nothing_

_(C) -Farewell, my fallen idol and false friend  
__We had such hopes, now those hopes are shattered_

_(P)-Too late for turning back  
__Too late for prayers and useless pity._

_(R)- Say you love him and my life is over!_

_(P)- All hope of cries for help, no point in fighting  
__For either way you choose you cannot win!_

_(R)-But either way you choose he has to win!_

_(P)- So do you end your days with me?  
__Or do you send him to his grave!?_

Gaara tightened the rope around Deidara's neck, hearing him let out a grunt of pain.

_Why make her lie to you to save me?_

_-(C) Angel of music, who deserves this?_

_-(P) Past the point of no return_

_-(R) Christine, say no! Don't throw your life away for my sake!_

_-(P) His life is now the prize which you must earn!_

_-(R) I fought so hard to free you…_

_-(P) You've passed the point of no return…_

_(C) Angel of Music, you deceived me…_

"I gave you my mind blindly." Hinata whispered. Gaara only stared at her. "You try my patience. Make your choice." He said in a harsh tone, tugging a little harder on the rope. Hinata looked apologetically at Deidara, and then at Gaara. There was a long pause.

…_Pitiful creature of darkness  
__what kind of life have you known?  
__God give me courage to show you  
__You are not alone!_

Hinata walked up to Gaara and pressed her lips against his. The music sudden music in the background made her blush and they parted momentarily before kissing again. Gaara would've stayed like that forever if he could, but they were in a play. They pulled away from each other, Gaara glancing back at Deidara. He was glaring at him, and Gaara scrambled to continue the play.

Immediately back in character, Gaara made a look of a mix of sadness and happiness. The sadness took over, and he started backing away from her.

_(Track down this murderer…)_

_Take her! Forget me! Forget all of this!  
__Leave me alone, forget all you've seen!  
__Go now, don't let them find you!  
__Take the boats; swear to me, never to tell,  
__The secrets you know of the angel in hell!_

_(The Phantom of the Opera is there, Deep down below)_

Hinata hurriedly untied the ropes that bound Deidara to the gate and hugged him. Gaara walked up back to the lever that raised the gate and pulled it.

_Go now! Go now and leave me!_

He disappeared to the back part of his hideaway. He was sitting on his bed, a small tune beginning to play. Softly he sang to the tune, his voice shaking slightly.

_Masquerade…  
__Paper faces on parade…  
__Masquerade…  
__Hide your face so the world will never find you…_

He turned slightly and saw Hinata.

_Christine, I love you…_

Hinata slowly walked to him, taking off the ring he gave her and putting it in his hand. Then she turned and walked away.

_(Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime.  
__Say the word and I will follow you.  
__Share each day with me, each night, each morning…)_

He watched as Hinata and Deidara walked offstage. Then he softly began to sing to himself,

_You alone can make my song take flight…  
__It's over now the music of the night!_

Gaara walked over to a mirror and broke it with a candle holder. He walked over to each mirror present and broke it, each getting two major cracks. When he got to the last one, he hit it until it was completely gone, then walked through it, disappearing from the stage.

A few minutes after, Ino and the people acting as the police searched around, looking for him. But the only thing she found was his mask.

-:-

Gaara dropped the candle holder and ran a tired hand through his hair. "I still have to sing that one song, right?" he muttered, walking to the side opening of the stage when he heard his name. Well, he actually heard 'The Phantom', but oh well.

--

After, Gaara sighed, taking off the mask and setting it on a pile of boxes by the stage. Hinata walked up and hugged him. "You were awesome!" She squealed, hugging him tightly. He put a hand on her head. "Yeah, you too, but now I'm really tired…" Hinata let him go, realizing that her heart was thumping out of her chest. She watched him leave until Deidara walked up to her and hugged her.

"Hey, you were great out there." He said, pressing his lips to her head. She giggled. "Thanks. You were great too. Thanks for being so tolerant when I kissed Gaara back there." She kissed him. "If I weren't tied to the gate I would've killed him, so don't thank me." He laughed. The two snuggled close to each other before someone told them to go change out of their costumes.

-:-

Deidara, Hinata, and Gaara were walking towards the gym, where the party to celebrate a successful play was being held. They were requested to be the last people to arrive, to make the moment more 'special.' They didn't get it either, but when they opened the doors to the gym, the three were met with loud cheers and rounds of applause.

"Great job, you three! Our three main characters, Raoul, Christine, and the Phantom have arrived, everyone!" A person holding a microphone announced from the other side of the gym. The cheers were a little louder this time. Hinata blushed at all the attention.

Deidara felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around and was glad to see Sasori and the others there. "Hey! Look!" Hinata and Gaara turned to see them. Sasori pulled Hinata into a big hug. "You were sooooo great, Hinata! You looked so pretty in that dress, and your voice was absolutely perfect!" he gushed, hugging her tightly.

"And Gaara! Jeez, who knew you had such… such passion!" Sasori was acting like he just saw the epic battle between Jesus and the Anti-Christ. Deidara poked him, making him stop. "What?" Sasori growled, angry that he was interrupted from totally spazzing out at how awesome he thought the play was. "Whaddaya mean 'what'!? I did a good job too, right!?" Deidara asked. Sasori shrugged. "Meh."

…Well, while Deidara's beating the living shit out of Sasori…

Gaara and Hinata somehow got a few minutes to themselves, what with all the people there. No, they weren't eloping, they just wanted to talk as friends after their performance in a play.

But… why does Gaara have his arms around Hinata and has her pinned to the wall?

"G-Gaara… wait… I-I already have a b-boyfriend…!" He kissed her, ignoring her soft protests. "Break up with him… I want you now…" he said gruffly, resting his hand on her hip.

…D8

I'm kidding, really, just a joke. The real thing is that they're sitting in chairs that were against the wall, having a joyous conversation about a totally different subject than the play.

"And it has the shirt and everything. Oh! There's also this glasses wiper that's stuffed into a cotton chocolate cornet and its so awesome!" Hinata was describing the Lucky Star box set she got a few days ago. "I'll let you borrow it! Oh! I'll wear that next time we go to an anime convention! That'll be so cool!" She stopped suddenly, earning a confused look from Gaara.

"I'll let _you_ wear it!" she said in a voice that she called her 'dramatic realization' voice. Gaara looked at her with disbelief. "You're kidding. You're gonna make a man like me wear a Lucky Star Sailor Fuku T-shirt?" he laughed a bit. Hinata nodded, giggling a bit. "It'll look… funny on you!" she started laughing at the thought.

"I wonder if we'll have a Lucky Star cosplay shoot. That'd be awesome!" Hinata giggled again. Gaara smiled. There was an awkward pause between the two, and suddenly they were holding hands for no reason. "Um…" Hinata let out a nervous laugh only to fall into silence again.

…_He's holding my hand… but wait, if I let go would he be offended? But we both were the ones who started it, so it'd be okay if I let go, right? Wait… but we obviously started to hold hands because we wanted to, and me suddenly letting go would be kinda a waste of a good holding of hands… and I don't really want him to be confused… and I really do want to hold his hand… it's so warm… _

Hinata was blushing a dark red. Suddenly the warm feeling in her hand disappeared when Gaara stood up. She looked up at him with an almost disappointed look. "I ran out of punch. Want me to get you more while I'm up there?" He asked. Hinata looked down at her drink. It was still full. "Uh… N-No, I'll get more later. Thanks." She said. "Alright. Stay here, I might get lost finding you in this crowd of people." He grinned at her before walking through the crowd and towards the refreshment table, leaving Hinata alone with her thoughts.

She glanced around the dimly lit room, looking for Deidara. He was on the other side of the room, seeming to be punching something behind the speakers that played music. _I have Deidara. I love him and always will._ She thought. _Is that really how you feel?_Hinata jolted up at the second voice. _Can you really tell yourself that you love Deidara as much as you say you do?_ She shook her head vigorously, trying to rid herself of these thoughts.

_But… He loves me. I don't want to break up with him. __Yeah, he loves you. But, believe me, girl, he knows you love someone else, too._ The voice's response was quick and to the point. Hinata looked down towards the floor, her face turning red at the thought of Gaara. She gulped down her drink and set the cup down on the floor by her feet. She sighed and leaned back, looking at the ceiling.

_Do I love Deidara? Or do I love Gaara?_

-:-

Yes, she's just NOW, after nine chapters realizing that she MIGHT like Gaara. Pretty slow, isn't she?

--

On another note, I'd like to say that this chapter was a serious pain in the ass to write. It's almost thirty pages long because of all the songs I don't even think I was supposed to write the lyrics for, and in between songs I switched between the stage and the settings in the movie. I'm TERRIBLE!

And since I know that we all like receiving PMs, Reviews, and some other term of internet human contact, I will REPLY to your reviews if you say you honestly read this whole thing, word for word, nonstop, and now need eye surgery for looking at the computer too long. Well, not that your review has to say that, but if you at least show that you've read the chapter by reviewing, I will REPLY! (PS I love getting replies and Reviews from for my stories lol)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME, AN UNDESERVING CRACK-FIC AUTHOR MORTALLY WRECK YOUR EYES AND WASTE YOUR TIME WITH RIDICULOUSLY LONG SONGS!! BYE!!


	10. Sleepover :3

Hinata saw Gaara walking towards her, holding two cups of punch

Hinata saw Gaara walking towards her, holding two cups of punch. He grinned at her, handing her the second cup. "I knew you'd finish your drink while I was gone!" he said proudly. Hinata laughed a bit. _He knows you well._ The voice in her head said to her. The two sat in silence for a while.

_He likes you too, you know. Maybe you should make the first move…?_ Hinata mentally sighed. _You're getting to be a bit annoying._ Though, she didn't even look annoyed. Her tone of 'thought' was happier sounding than what the phrase let on. She kinda liked hearing that someone –no, that _Gaara_- liked her. Without knowing it, she had a small grin on her face.

"Hinata?" Her head snapped up, bumping into something on the way. Hinata reached for the now aching spot on her head and got up waving to the side. She gasped in worry when she realized that the thing she bumped into was Gaara's face. "Ah! G-Gaara! I-I'm sorry! Are you alright!?" she put a hand on his shoulder. Gaara rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked at her. "I'm fine… but are you okay?" he asked.

Hinata looked at him worriedly before nodding slowly. "Yeah. Just zoning out again." She smiled at him. "Okay. If you say so." The two sat there in silence a little while longer before Deidara walked up to them. "Hey, what's up?" he picked Hinata up and sat in her chair then placed her on his lap. "Nothing. Just talking." Gaara answered. "Well, I'm actually getting drunk on punch, I dunno." He muttered afterward. Deidara laughed. Hinata rested her head on Deidara's shoulder, feeling extremely tired all of a sudden. He kissed her.

"Tired?" he asked. "Mm." Hinata closed her eyes.

Gaara looked away from them and focused on the crowd. He spotted someone familiar, and immediately turned back to Hinata.

"Hinata, I think I see Neji over there." He said. Hinata snapped up, following Gaara's gaze towards across the room. She saw Neji leaning against the wall and apparently looking for her. Hinata carefully slid off of Deidara's lap and walked into the crowd. Deidara and Gaara followed her.

"Neji! Neji, over here!" Hinata called, a big smile on her face. Neji looked her way and grinned at her. "Hey! I saw your play. Great job, I didn't know you could sing like that." Neji hugged her quickly before he saw Gaara and Deidara. "Who's the Blondie?" he asked. Deidara huffed at the 'Blondie' remark. He wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulders and pulled her to him. "I'm her boyfriend. Who're you?" he asked in a low and annoyed voice.

"I'm her brother Neji. Since when did Hinata get a boyfriend?" Neji asked. Hinata blushed and laughed awkwardly. "It's been a couple of weeks actually…" she said. Deidara leaned next to her ear. "You haven't told your parents about me, have you?" he asked, chuckling as he kissed her. "B-But mom knows… I think."

Neji started walking away. "I'm gonna tell mom and dad that I found you –oh wait, better yet, you come with me." He walked back to her and took her hand, leading her through the crowd and towards the entrance of the building. They were sitting outside, Hanabi playing a DS game while their parents talked.

"Hey! I found her!" Neji called to them. Hiashi was the first to stand up. "Hinata!" he said, hugging her tightly. Then her mother hugged her as well. "I'm so proud of you, honey." Hiashi said. "Thanks…" Hinata glanced towards Deidara, who her father noticed quickly.

Hiashi walked over to Deidara and circled around him, observing him up and down. "Who's this?" he asked. "Oh, he's… He's my… b-boyfriend…" Hinata said hesitantly. She was almost sure that he was going to explode. "Boyfriend?" Hiashi repeated, stopping beside his wife. There was an awkward silence, then suddenly he grinned. "He looks like a good man!" he laughed. Hinata let out a sigh of relief and walked to Deidara, kissing him on the cheek.

"And I also realize that this young man was the play's very own Raoul. You did a great job out there." Hiashi spotted Gaara, looking over Hanabi's shoulder as she played a Pokemon game on the DS. Hiashi grabbed his arm and pulled him into a tight man-hug. "And Gaara, the Phantom. You know, _I_ was the phantom in one of the stage plays. It was the last one I acted in, you know?" he chuckled at the awkward look on Gaara's face. "I know, Mr. Hyuga…" he said in a low voice.

Hiashi leaned closer to him so that the others wouldn't hear. "If you want to get to my daughter, you better hurry up. She won't be available for long." Gaara turned red and stepped back a bit. "Uh… Wh-What?" Hiashi held a knowing look in his eye before joining his wife to talk to Hinata and Deidara.

Gaara sighed, moving to sit beside Hanabi. "He's right, you know." She said. He blinked at her, then sighed again. "I know."

-:-

"Gaara, do you need a ride home?" Hinata's mom offered to Gaara after the party. "No, I can walk, Mrs. Hyuga." Gaara said, zipping up his jacket. "Are you sure? Alright, well, have a safe trip home." The two nodded to each other. Hinata walked up and hugged him. "I'll see you later." She said, turning red. "Yeah."

With that the two parted ways. Deidara was about to follow Gaara, since both their houses were in the same direction, but suddenly he was grabbed and shoved into a car. "Oh no you don't! Your coming back to our house." It was Hinata's mom, and he realized that Hinata was sitting beside him. "M-Mom! No! He has to go home!" she protested. "Oh? Do you need to get home, Deidara?" Hinata's mom asked. Deidara shook his head, catching on very fast. "I'm free most of the time, so it's fine." He said, grinning. Hinata was about to protest, but Deidara kissed her quickly.

"I wanna see your house, Hina-chan!" he said in a cute (in one way) voice.

"'Hina-chan?'" Hinata's mother chuckled at the nickname. "You two are so cute." She said. Hinata blushed a dark red. "Thank you, Mrs. Hyuga." Deidara wrapped both arms around Hinata and they both stayed like that the whole ride home.

--

Gaara quietly opened the door to the house, closing it behind him and locking it. It was dark, and he decided to keep it that way. Everyone was asleep, so he made his way up to his room. He changed into a shirt and shorts, turned on the PS2, and lay down on his stomach with a controller in hand. _What an eventful after-play night._ He thought. _No wonder I have such dark rings under my eyes, sheesh._

He didn't remember what game he left in there, but when the loading screen came up, he pressed a button and a bullet hole appeared on the letters. It was Devil May Cry 4. _…I'm not in the mood for DMC…_ he turned off the PS2 and moved farther on his bed, lying face down on the pillows.

_I wonder what Hinata's doing right now…_ he thought, closing his eyes. _**You wanna know? I can tell you.**_ Gaara's eyes snapped open. "What the hell!?" He said aloud. _Where were you this whole time!? _He heard a loud laughing noise. _**I saw you guys rehearsing, I didn't want to bother ya. **_There was a pause.

…_You're lying._

_**Haha, damn right I am. I've been talkin' to Hinata's inner voice an' everything. She's a nice girl, cute too.**_

_You're not talking about Hinata, are you?_

_**NO! I'm talking about her inner voice. She's seeeriously hot. You think I got a chance? Hehe…**_

… _but don't you look like-_

_**Hey, I don't look like that thing in that one show you watch… what was it called? Nayratu?**_

_Ew, no, it's called Naruto. NA-RU-TO. God, that was a terrible way to say it, too!_

_**Sorry, sorry! Jeez, well, I'm nothing like that thing named Shukaku in that show. I am NOT a huge wad of raccoon-shaped sand. **_

Gaara laughed at this. _Then what DO you look like?_

_**I'd say so, but then I'd be bragging. Haha!**_

…

…_**So yeah. You think I got a chance with Hinata's inner voice?**_

_Do you even know her name?_

…_**that's number one on my 'To do' list. And she's number two, haha! **_

…_not with your comedy, no._

_**Thanks. **_

--

"Deidara, Deidara, Deidara. How did you meet our dear Hinata?"

This was an awkward sight indeed. The two of them never expected meeting Hinata's parents would be so… official.

"Um…" Deidara glanced at Hinata, who had an equally bewildered look as he did. Hinata's mother was holding a clipboard and a pen. Hiashi was sitting beside her, holding the microphone. Neji and Hanabi served as the audience.

"Uh… I-I bumped into her one day… I took her to… my house because we fell and she fainted… and I didn't want to just leave her there… and… she joined our cosplay group and stuff… and just one day I suddenly realized that I was in love." They both turned red when Hinata's mother squealed. "OH GAWD YOU'RE JUST SOO!!" Oh dear, she just achieved (X3). (Ahem, the face, not the letters).

While she was doing that, Hiashi cut in. "What is your plan for marrying our daughter?" he asked casually, which really scared everyone in the room except himself and Mrs. Hyuga. Deidara noticed that Hinata was half asleep on his shoulder; the perfect subject change. "Uh… M-Mr. Hyuga, I think Hinata needs to sleep…" he said awkwardly. Suddenly the two parents had an evil look. "_Eager_, are we?" Mrs. Hyuga said. "Wh-What?" Deidara turned red for Hinata. "Yes, you two _should_ go to bed, _hahaha!_" Hiashi and Mrs. Hyuga stood up at the same time, telling Neji and Hanabi to go to bed as well. "I-I can stay here!?" Deidara asked in disbelief. But they were already gone, not answering his question.

This left Deidara and Hinata alone in the living room. When he made sure that everyone was gone, he gently nudged his shoulder. Hinata groaned, holding onto Deidara's arm. "Hey, you gotta sleep in a bed, not on a couch." He helped her stand up and carried her, hearing a surprised squeak from her. "I think I can sleep over. Nobody really said no." he cuddled against her as he walked up the stairs. "Which one's your room?" he asked. Hinata yawned before pointing towards a door with an anime poster taped to it.

Deidara quietly opened the door and let Hinata stand on her own. Before she could do anything he pulled her into a hug and kissed her. "Your parents are so weird!" he laughed, bringing her to the bed. "A-Aren't we going to change?" Hinata asked, putting a hand on each of his shoulders. "What am I gonna change into?" Deidara asked playfully, brushing her lips against her neck. She blushed.

"U-Um… I think N-Neji's clothes can fit you…" Hinata tried to move farther up on the bed, but found that she was pinned down. "Are you kidding me? If I'm not gonna change, you're not gonna change, that's the rule." Deidara moved up to kiss her lips again. "When did that become a rule!?" Hinata squeaked out. "You have a big bed. Like, twice the size of mine." Deidara gathered her into his arms and rolled around, enjoying the space. "D-Don't change the subject!" Hinata said. "Good, I'm glad you agree." Deidara laughed at his own little joke.

"What!? Agree with what?" Hinata asked. "That I can't change the subject. And right now, to me, the subject is you. So you just said that you can't change." Deidara felt smart. "Deidara!" he kissed her again. "You're so cute when you're mad." He smiled. Hinata turned red. "J-Just don't do anything… bad." Deidara tugged off her jacket, which she forgot to take off earlier. "You do know that we have different views on what's 'bad', right?" Deidara smirked. "D-Deidara! You know what I mean!" Hinata tried to squirm away from under him, but he pinned her down with both arms at her sides.

"I'm clueless as to what you mean by 'bad'." He chuckled, gently brushing his lips against hers and immediately moving to her neck. Hinata bit her lip, trying to hold back a moan. Deidara saw right through her attempt, and just to see what she'd do, stroked her side with his hand. Her mouth opened in a small gasp, but quickly caught herself. She almost glared at him. He grinned at her.

"This ain't so bad…" he sucked on her collarbone, Hinata's attempts at being silent growing smaller. His hand slid under her shirt, her back arching as his arm wrapped around her waist. "I-It is bad… Y-You shouldn't be doing this…" Hinata managed to say, her breath increasing a bit. "You know you like it…" Deidara lifted her shirt up a little, trailing kisses up her stomach. He brushed against her breasts before moving up to her lips. He realized that she was trying to hold back another moan. He kissed her passionately, his tongue slipping in.

Hinata shut her eyes tightly. She couldn't take it anymore. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. They parted, looking into each other's eyes. Hers were trying to tell him something, and he smiled. "Don't worry, I won't go far. Just touching and kissing." He moved them so that they were farther up on the bed and kissed her again. She moaned as his tongue once again began to play with hers.

"D-Deidara…" Hinata whispered, kissing him lightly on the neck. It tickled him, and in response he nipped at her now bare shoulder. He slid her shirt off and softly cupped one breast through her bra. She shivered at this, and he quickly moved his hand. "Sorry. Too far?" he whispered. Hinata shook her head. "I-I'm fine…" She whispered back. Smiling sweetly at her, Deidara kissed her and muttered a soft, "I love you."

Hinata's hand started unbuttoning his shirt and slid it off, throwing it somewhere else on the bed. Deidara chuckled. "You're getting really into this, you know." He said. Hinata just blushed. "It's cute how you're just giving in to me like this." He kissed her neck and sucked gently. She moaned a bit, her hands on his chest.

"I can't see how we're gonna avoid doing it…" he sighed. "It looks like we're having it right now..." He added, fumbling with her skirt. Hinata gently placed a hand over his, stopping him. He pouted. "I love you. But I'm not ready to do it yet." She said softly, the two of them sitting up. Hinata wasn't completely shirtless, her bra was still on, but just barely.

Deidara smiled a little, throwing both their shirts at the foot of the bed, then pushed her down onto the bed and pulling up the covers. He did her a small favor and hooked her bra up again and wrapped his arms around her. "G'night. I love you." He said, lightly pecking her on the shoulder and then the lips. "I love you too." She smiled, snuggling closer to him. Deidara reached over and turned off the side lamp, making it dark.

--

The next day, Hiashi and Mrs. Hyuga sneaked into Hinata's room with a camera. It didn't disturb them that they were both shirtless and hugging each other. Instead, they snapped about five pictures in five different angles then left.

"Well?"

"They didn't go all the way."

"How can you tell?"

"Hinata's hair would be a little more messed up, and they both would be completely naked."

"Oh…"

"And the condom we left close to the lamp wasn't used."

Mrs. Hyuga held back a laugh. "I can't believe we actually did that." Hiashi laughed as well. "Well, might as well get breakfast ready." He said, standing up. "Alright."

--

"Hinata, dear, time to wake up!" Mrs. Hyuga called Hinata and Deidara down for breakfast. Deidara was the first one to wake up. He didn't really feel like moving, so he stayed like that for a while. He didn't hear the footsteps coming up the stairs and towards the room. The door opened, and dark blue hair flowed in. "Hinata, dear—" Mrs. Hyuga noted that Deidara was the only one half-awake.

"Deidara, honey, could you wake Hinata up for me please?" she asked, chuckling at his sudden dumbfounded and embarrassed look. "M-M-Mrs. H-Hyuga!" he half-yelled. Deidara remembered that he was shirtless and pulled the covers up. "I-I-I-I d-didn't— She didn't— We didn't—" he stuttered. "I know, I know, you two didn't get anything done last night. That's perfectly fine with us. Just remember to put on a shirt before you come down." Mrs. Hyuga hummed to her self as she closed the door and left.

Deidara stared at the door, the awkwardness slowly flowing away. Then he gently shook Hinata awake, giving her a quick kiss on the arm before moving to grab their shirts. "Hmn… Deidara…?" Hinata propped herself up on her arms and rubbed her eyes. She looked incredibly cute- so cute in fact that Deidara jumped right back on top of her and kissed her. She let out a small squeak before returning his surprising hug.

"Time to wake up." Deidara whispered in her ear. "Alright…" Hinata tried to get up but remembered that Deidara was still on top of her. "What day is it?" Hinata was about to fall asleep again but Deidara suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up. "Kya! D-Deidara, put me down! Really!" she yelled. Deidara held her close and kissed her cheek. "I love you." He said, his lips brushing over her skin. "I love you too. Let's go eat breakfast now."

The two walked out of her room and down the stairs (they both put on a shirt btw) and into the kitchen. "Good morning, you two! How was your stay, Deidara?" Mrs. Hyuga greeted them with a smile as she put food on the table. "Uh… Very good… thanks…" Deidara wrapped an arm around Hinata tightly. "I'm glad. Go ahead, eat, you must be hungry." Deidara nodded and sat at the table, in between Hinata and Hanabi.

Deidara was about to take a bite out of his food, but glanced to his side and noticed that Hinata's little sister was staring at him. She didn't glance away or flinch when they made eye contact. He found that a little creepy. "Can… I help you?" he asked. "You're guy in that one book Hinata was reading." Hanabi said. Deidara nodded slowly then turned to Hinata. "She's talking about Naruto, right?" Hinata nodded, laughing a bit.

"Yes, I am! Nice of you to notice, young lady." Deidara said, grinning. Hanabi giggled, grinning back. "So why do you look like a girl?" Hanabi asked in the comfort of the moment. Deidara stayed silent, his grin still tightly in place. He was trying hard not to burst into a fit of rage. He slowly turned to Hinata, who gave him an apologetic look in turn for her sister. _Don't be mad; she doesn't know what she just said…_

"I _look_ like a girl because I like being pretty." Deidara said this in a deep manly voice, making Hanabi laugh. Hinata laughed as well, linking arms with him.

"Look at that, Hiashi, he gets along with Hanabi so well." Mrs. Hyuga said wistfully. "Yes, he does. He gets an A+ in my book." Hiashi chuckled a little as he watched Deidara, Hanabi, and Hinata talk animatedly about how he looked like an anime character.

-:-

Omake Theatre: Shukaku, Gaara's inner voice.

"So, Shukaku, what do you _really_ look like?" Gaara and Shukaku (somehow separated by the power of plot convenience) were sitting in two different chairs, hoping to look like some kind of talk show.

"**What? Can't you see me right here and now?" **Shukaku laughed. "Please tell us what you look like because we don't have a video feed. For the sake of our dear readers, please describe your physical traits." Gaara was reading off an index card.

"**Well… I look exactly like you, only I'm a little more cynical and (cough, better looking, cough)."** Shukaku grinned. **"I'm the rude, rebellious, yet-somewhat-more-attractive version of yourself that all the ladies want." **He added haughtily. "All except one." Gaara hissed at him. Shukaku looked like he just got hit by an arrow. **"Hey, it's not my fault that she'd not the type who likes the rebels, okay!? I'll get her one day, I swear on it!"**

"Uh huh…" Gaara paused to think.

"But if me and Hinata hook up, wouldn't that mean that you would be related to Hinata's inner voice?" he asked. Shukaku shook his head. **"Inner voices are not related to their host. We just change our appearances to look like our host so that we have some kind of connection. Though we do have some differences – like we all are supposed to look like an adult version of you." **Gaara nodded. "I see. So does that mean that once I don't need you anymore you're off to be someone else's inner voice?" he asked.

"**Nope, you're stuck with me forever. :D"** Gaara groaned in disappointment. **"Hey, what's with all the depressing crap!? You should be happy!"**

"Next time, Hinata will be interviewing her inner voice, (insert name here)!"

"**Don't ignore me!"**

The two spent the rest of the show bickering about the whole thing.

Omake Theatre: Shukaku –End.

-:-

Okay, so… Shukaku looks like Gaara (only he has the tattoo) and Hinata's inner voice (Name is to be decided) looks like her, only Hinata's inner voice has darker hair (some difference, huh?).

PS: Did I kill your eyes with the last chapter? I'M SORRY!!


	11. I'm Still Waiting

So… How are you guys? Lol has nothing to talk about.

-:-

Gaara was lying down on his stomach on his bed as he looked for good videos to watch on YouTube. Out of complete boredom, he searched 'The Phantom of the Opera', his fingers typing quickly to save him some time. He scrolled down a bit, and was surprised to see 'The Phantom of the Opera: Stageplay featuring Gaara (insert last name), Hinata Hyuga, and Deidara'. Hesitantly he clicked on it, and to his horror realized that it was the play that he performed in not too long ago.

Grimacing, he started to talk to Hinata on IM.

_Gaara: JKC M, GJKLA;JFKLHJKDASD (link to video on YouTube)_

_Hina-chan:… what is this?_

_Gaara: THE STUPID SCHOOL PUT THE PLAY ON YOUTUBE!! D:_

_Hina-chan: AAGH! WHAT!?_

Gaara paused to wait for a response from her. She was probably watching the video now, so he rolled around on his bed and rubbed his eyes. He heard a dinging noise come from the IM window and looked quickly at the message.

_Hina-chan: Hey, Gaara! It's dei at hinata's house! _

Gaara frowned.

_Gaara: What the fudge are you doing there?_

_Hina-chan: you sound mad :P_

_Gaara: Well im not happy. (angry emote)_

_Hina-chan: I slept over at her house last night :P awesomeness_

_Gaara: I see. WHAT. THE. HELL._

_Hina-chan: im hurt! Lol isn't it normal for a boyfriend to sleep over at his girl's house?_

_Gaara: if its you, then no. absolutely not._

_Hina-chan: o3o lol_

Gaara's cell phone rang, and he answered it, seeing that it was Hinata who was calling.

"Tell Deidara to stop talking to me on IM." He said. He heard a ruffling noise, and then a loud groan of disappointment. "Okay, so, anyway…" Hinata started. "WHEN DID THE SCHOOL GET A YOUTUBE ACCOUNT!?" she shrieked into the phone. "I didn't know they could afford one!" they both laughed. (Ahem, on a side note, YT accounts don't cost a thing, that was the joke lol)

Gaara could hear the video playing on Hinata's computer through the phone. "…I'm adding this to my favorites." He heard her mutter. Gaara leaned on his hand and watched the video from his laptop. "I didn't know you were such a good actor, Hinata." He laughed a little. "Same to you." Hinata said as a comeback. "No, I mean, you look seriously hypnotized or something. It's kinda cool." Hinata laughed a bit from the other end. "Thanks. You did a great job as well." There was a comfortable silence until he heard the door slam open at her end.

"_HINATA! I wanna give Deidara a makeover!_" From the sound of it, it was Hanabi.

"_What? Hanabi, no!_"

"_Do I really look like a girl to you!?_"

"_Yes! A girl in desperate need of a makeover! Come on!_" There were rustling noises and a loud thud, and then a low hissing sound that reminded him of someone being dragged over a carpet.

"_H-Hanabi! Wait a second!_"

Gaara laughed a bit at Deidara's torment. "I'm sorry, Gaara, but I need to save Deidara from Hanabi! You know how bad she is with make-up!" Hinata hung up the phone, and so did he.

He watched the video for a few more minutes and then turned off the laptop. _Maybe I'll go take a walk…_ he thought, getting up and changing into jeans and a black shirt. _Oh, I know, maybe I'll join the party at Hinata's house. _He took out his cell phone, about to call her cell again, but stopped. She was probably still trying to save Deidara from her sister's clutches.

Shrugging, he continued out of the house. "Where are you going?" Temari asked from the kitchen. "Hinata's house. I'm bored here, and her house is always interesting." Gaara replied. "Oh. Okay, so I'm cooking lunch for two?" Temari smiled at him. "Yeah, sorry. I'll see you later." Gaara left, locking the door behind him.

-:-

It took a long time, but Hinata finally got Hanabi to stop harassing Deidara. She sighed in relief when the two were back in the safety of her room. "Why is your sister so…" Deidara started, trailing off as he pulled the beads out of his hair. "I'm sorry… she's deeply influenced by the Barbie doll franchise…" Hinata apologized, helping him wipe off the make-up. "It's not your fault." Deidara said, laughing a bit. "I know, but I don't think Hanabi will say sorry any time soon."

By now all the make-up was gone, and Hinata stood up to throw the paper towels away. When she came back, Deidara was picking the last pieces of glitter out of his hair. "Thanks, Hinata." He said, flicking the glitter away and smiling at her. "Sorry again," She said. "It's fine, really. I've worn make-up before, just not brand Barbie." They both laughed.

Hinata leaned down and kissed him, taken by surprise when his hand pushed her to him. "I love you." He said, gazing into her eyes with a small smile on his face. "I love you too." She kissed him again, this time a little longer than before. They stopped when they heard Mrs. Hyuga call Hinata's name.

"Hinata, Gaara's here!" Hinata glanced at Deidara before walking towards the door. "Gaara?" Hinata smiled when she saw Gaara at the foot of the stairs. "Hey." He said, smiling back at her. "What're you doing here?" Hinata asked, walking halfway down the stairs to meet him. Gaara shrugged. "I was bored at home. Did I miss the makeover?" he asked, laughing a little. "Sorry, you missed it all." Hinata started walking up the stairs. "You thirsty?" she asked. "Nah, I'm fine." Gaara replied, following her.

Deidara was lying on his back, arms and legs spread apart and staring at the ceiling. "Deidara…?" Hinata started. Deidara glanced at the two of them and sat up, grinning. "I never knew a floor could be so comfortable." He laughed. "Oh, Gaara! Hi!" Deidara stood up to see them at the door. "Dude, Hinata's room is seriously awesome." He said. "…I know. I've been here before." Gaara said as if the statement was obvious.

"So… what do you guys want to do?" Hinata asked, trying to be a good host. Gaara and Deidara both shrugged. "Maybe we should-" Deidara started, but was interrupted when his cell phone rang. "Oh. I didn't know I brought this with me." Deidara took out his cell and answered it.

"_Where are you?_" It sounded like Sasori.

"Oh, I'm at Hinata's house. Her room is super awesome." Deidara winked at Hinata. "_Alright… well… Leader wants to know: What should our next shoot be?_" Deidara turned to Hinata and Gaara. "Hey, what should our next cosplay shoot be?" he asked. "I dunno. What do you want to do?" Gaara shrugged. "Have you guys done FMA?" Hinata asked. Deidara grinned at her, turning back to the phone.

"FMA?" Deidara heard Sasori hum in interest. "_Hey guys! How does Fullmetal sound?" _he heard him call to the others in the room. "_Cool. Hey, can you guys come over?" _Sasori asked. "Hinata, wanna go over to the base?" Deidara glanced to Hinata, who nodded. "Yeah, okay. We'll be there in a few." He closed the phone and followed Hinata and Gaara to the door.

"Mom! We're going to the base!" she called before they went out the door. "Bye honey, have fun!" Mrs. Hyuga called back.

"Okay, so you know how we plan for photo shoots, right?" Deidara asked as the three walked down the sidewalk. "Nope. First shoot. Unless the Anime Convention counts." Hinata answered, holding Deidara's hand. He squeezed it lightly. "Okay, so it's your first time. Well, first of all, we pick parts. Then, Sasori starts working on the costumes, and meanwhile we choose locations. When he's done, we start taking pictures." Hinata nodded. "And then what?" she asked. "Then, we post it on our website." Deidara didn't get into much detail about the Akatsuki website, which made Hinata curious.

Soon they arrived, and already the living room was filled with the house's inhabitants.

"Hey, are we going to make Alphonse a piece of armor or a human?"

"Well, obviously human. I build armor as well as I draw- and that's not saying much."

And another conversation went like—

"Nu-uh! You're too tall to be Edward!"

"Hidan, we're _all_ tall."

"…Your FACE!"

"And what the hell was that?"

"…Your face!"

Hidan was good with the comebacks, as you can see. Hinata laughed a bit, catching the attention of the others. "Who is the owner of that incredibly cute laugh!?" Hidan asked. Hinata raised her hand. "Hinata_ Hyuga!!_ I _thought_ so! You're so much shorter than us – why don't you be our Edward Elric!?" Hinata laughed again. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"Alright, how 'bout Winry?" Itachi said, handing her a piece of paper. "…Is this the outfit I'll wear?" Hinata asked. Winry only wore a black somewhat mid-drift and purple work pants. The top part was taken off and folded around her waist. It was a little more revealing than Hinata liked.

"I'm starting to doubt you guys think I'm pretty." Konan said from the couch. "You're always giving Hinata the pretty parts." She laughed a little, and so did everyone else. "Well, if you want, you can be Pinako." Hidan said, snickering. A pillow was sent flying his way. Ah, always fun in the Akatsuki base.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Sit down already!" Kisame invited. Deidara, Hinata, and Gaara quickly took seats in one of the many stools placed in the living room.

"Alright; so, we got Winry and Hawkeye down. Who's next?" Pein asked, looking at the remaining pictures on the table. Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes, Scar, Alphonse Elric, and Edward Elric were still in need of parts. "Hidan, you wanna be Hughes?" Pein looked to Hidan. "Sure."

"Itachi, how about you being Edward?" Pein said. Hidan was about to protest, but Pein glared at him. "Meh." Itachi shrugged, glancing at Hinata for a second.

"And how about Kisame for Alphonse?" Pein looked at Kisame, who shrugged aw well.

"'Sori, who do you wanna be?" Pein turned his head to look at Sasori, who was sitting behind the couch. "Cool."

The whole meeting ended with Pein being Roy Mustang because everybody knows that Pein could get a little over protective (ahem, _possessive_) When it came to Konan. Why they spent twenty minutes arguing about it Hinata will never know. But now that left everyone to just… hang out.

"So Deidara, I heard that you went over to Hinata's house last night." Hidan said. Deidara nodded, looking a little proud of himself. "What's it like there?" everyone leaned closer to listen, Hinata turning a light pink at all the attention. "Well, for one thing, Hinata has a crazy sister that thinks I look like a girl." Everybody laughed. "What'd she do?" Kisame asked, chuckling a little more. "She braided my hair and tried putting lipstick on me. It was terrible." Everyone laughed again.

"And then, Hinata came to the rescue! She told Hanabi –that's her sister's name- to stop and got all the crap she put in my hair out." Hinata giggled sweetly, leaning on Deidara. He wrapped an arm around her. "Aren't you two the cutest?" Konan said, smiling. Hinata blushed at her comment. "You know, sometimes I wish Pein would be as good to me as Deidara is to you; almost makes me jealous." Konan playfully punched Pein in the arm. "Hey—I'm good (enough)!" Pein wrapped his arm around her.

"Well, I'm sure that the rest of us singles are getting pissed off—so I'm just gonna go get started on those costumes, okay?" Sasori stood up and stretched. "Yeah." Most everyone headed for the front door. "Where're you all going?" Pein, who was still at the couch, asked.

"I need new lenses for my camera." Kakuzu said.

"I need a new comb –my last one broke." Hidan said.

"Isn't that the fifth comb this week?"

"Well I'm sorry that _some_ of us have near-impossible hair!" Hidan glared at Pein for a second.

"Well I'm sorry _someone_ lacks the skill to comb that near-impossible hair!"

Pein groaned. "Okay! Okay! Go ahead! Just not in here, it's so annoying!" he yelled at them. Hidan huffed, stomping outside.

"…They really fight a lot, don't they?" Hinata figured. "No kidding." Gaara agreed.

Pein stood up when Kakuzu and Hidan left. "Hey, I know something that we could do that we haven't in a long time – organize the manga shelf." He said, walking over to the big wall-sized shelf behind the couch. Deidara scoffed. "We haven't organized that thing in _months._ Heck, I bet even a year's passed without us ever returning a book back to where it was supposed to be." He said.

"How many series do you have?" Hinata asked. She frequently rearranged the manga on her own shelf and thought that she could help. "I dunno… like… 50? 60? I lost count ages ago." Pein shrugged, starting with the bottom shelf to get all the manga out. He stacked them vertically on the floor. It was Tsubasa – volumes 1-16 and ongoing. Pein patted another book on top of that; the Tsubasa Character Guide Book. Hinata immediately started looking through that as Pein cleared the bottom shelf.

Konan got started on the third shelf, since Pein had already gotten to the second one. Then Deidara the fourth, and Gaara the fifth. Hinata couldn't reach to the sixth one, and that made Gaara laugh. "You can just read for now; we need you to organize everything." Pein said, chuckling a little bit as he reached for the seventh shelf.

Pretty soon the entire space behind the couch was filled with stacks of manga. It was hard to get by without knocking over a book or two. But somehow, Hinata mad it to the shelf in time. "Okay, since we're working up, find a series that starts with an X, Y, or Z." she said. There was Yotsuba& and xxxHolic. And from there they worked backwards from the alphabet, putting Azumanga Daioh as the first series on the shelf. And now, the Akatsuki's Manga Shelf was organized alphabetically by series. Pein said to put all the non-anime novels at the top; nobody ever reads them anyway.

"Phew… I thought we'd never get that done!" Hinata sighed, leaning on the couch lazily. "Thanks for your help, Hinata." Pein grinned at her, and she smiled back. "Someone take a picture before we ruin it again." Konan said, making the others laugh.

Sasori walked out of his room, rubbing his back. "Oh god… sitting on a stool hunched over a sewing machine is no way to live…" he muttered to himself. He saw Hinata and Gaara and looked surprised. "What are you guys still doing here? Do you know how late it is?" he asked. Hinata snapped up. "What!?" she looked around for a clock, but didn't find one. She looked at her cell phone and almost shrieked at the time.

11:00 PM

"GYAAH!!" Hinata scrambled for the door, but forgot that there was a couch in the way. She fell over, under the table. When she tried to get up she hit her head, the table shuddering at the sudden jerk of movement. "Owie…" Hinata groaned, staying still for a second. Gaara slid down the couch on his back, head first, falling more gracefully than Hinata did under the table. "You okay?" He asked, laughing a bit. "Dad's gonna _kill_ me…" Hinata whimpered. Gaara ignored the thoughts that said that his dad would _literally_ kill him.

"Look on the bright side… it'll be quick and painless." Gaara laughed. "Not funny…" Hinata pouted and rolled onto her back without hitting the table. "Hey, at least you're not wearing a skirt; then this moment would've been embarrassing." Gaara said, moving the table away so that they could get up.

"You two okay?" Pein asked. "Yeah. I should really be getting home, though…" Hinata sat on the couch. "We could take the car." Pein offered. Hinata brightened up. "You have a car!?" she asked hopefully. "Yeah. It's in the garage, though." Pein led Hinata and Gaara to a back room in the hallway. Deidara followed, but not before asking Konan why she wasn't coming.

"You crazy? Pein drives like a maniac. How he passed the test I'll never know." Konan said. "Oh. Well, I'll go anyway. Kiss Hinata goodnight, you know?" Deidara grinned at her. "You're so sweet. See you later then. Make sure you guys come back in one piece." Konan waved at him before he disappeared into the back door of the hallway.

"Wow… This is your car!?" Hinata asked in an amazed tone. Pein turned on the lights and opened the garage door. "I only drive it when I absolutely have to; and right now falls under that category." On the outside of the car was a shiny and clean coat of silver, all the windows tinted except for the windshield. Through the windshield you could see an expensive Naruto Plush Doll hanging by a string on the mirror.

"Well, don't want to keep your parents waiting. Get in the car—you too Gaara." Pein opened the back seat door, helping Hinata get in, just like a proper gentleman. Gaara went in next, and Pein closed the door, walking over to the driver's seat. Deidara casually made his way to the passenger seat, grimacing at the fact that he wasn't sitting beside Hinata. Pein didn't seem bothered, and started the car.

"Ready? Make sure your seatbelts are on; it could be a bumpy ride." Pein turned behind him to back up, a big grin on his face. It made Hinata and Gaara uneasy.

"One, two, GO!!" There was a sudden jerk of the car, and in a flash they were already driving too fast down the narrow alley way leading to the main road. Everyone yelled in fear of hitting something. "Let's listen to music!" Pein shouted, turning on the radio and turning the volume up high. The car vibrated, only adding to the chaos he was inflicting on the road. Hinata was beginning to thank god that her house was only five minutes away by car.

But Pein had no idea where Hinata lived. When she realized that, Hinata looked out the window only to see her house pass by on the road. "Y-You missed my house…" She said. Her voice didn't reach anyone's ears over the music. "You missed my house!" Hinata said a little louder. "What!?" Pein shouted. "YOU MISSED MY HOUSE BY ABOUT FIVE MILES!!" Hinata shrieked. Suddenly the car screeched to a stop, and Pein turned off the radio. Everyone within a mile radius was now temporarily deaf for five minutes.

"Well god, why didn't you say so?" Pein made an unlawful U-turn and drove everyone back to Hinata's house.

--

By the time Hinata got home it was already 11:45. Gaara and Deidara walked her to the door while Pein waited in the car.

"Bye-Bye, Hina-chan! Sweet dreams!" Deidara gave Hinata a big hug, squeezing her tight and kissing her. "Bye. G'night, Deidara." Hinata hugged him quickly. Gaara gave her a quick hug, sneaking a small kiss on the cheek. "G'night." He said awkwardly. Hinata blushed a little. "Yeah." She opened the door to her house, watching as Deidara and Gaara walked back to the car.

"Hey, you gonna ride with us still?" Deidara asked from the passenger seat. "Uh… No. I'll walk. Thanks though." Gaara answered. "Alrighty then. See ya later, Gaara." Pein waved to him before stomping on the gas pedal, immediately driving out of sight.

When he was sure they wouldn't come back, Gaara walked back to Hinata, who looked surprised. Without a moment's hesitation, he pulled her into the tightest hug he could give. Hinata, feeling confused, turned a dark red. He kissed the tip of her ear, then whispered, "I'm still waiting for you." Hinata slowly hugged him back. "I know." She said without thinking. The second she did she turned an even darker red than before. Gaara smiled. He let go of her, his lips brushing against her cheek. "I'll see you later." He said softly, holding her hand as far as he could until he had to let go.

Hinata watched him carefully as he walked a way. He had an almost proud smile on his face. "Bye…" Hinata whispered. She didn't realize that her heart had temporarily stopped until she felt it beating again. Her mind couldn't get off of Gaara – she couldn't stop thinking of him. It wasn't until she bumped into the stairs. It was dark, so she figured everyone was asleep.

Silently she walked up the stairs. She reached her room, quickly changing into pajamas and hopping into bed.

_Gaara… No, I shouldn't be… feeling this._ Hinata shook her head on her pillow. _I already have Deidara. I… I love Deidara._ She shut her eyes tightly.

_Hey, me again to tell you that you should dump Deidara for Gaara._ A familiar voice said. Hinata groaned aloud, banging her head on her pillow. _Seriously. You like him and you __**know**__ it._ Hinata frowned. _I do, but I shouldn't. That's that. _Hinata enjoyed the few minutes of silence that followed.

_So you're really okay with lying to both yourself and Deidara?_

That was really the question for her, wasn't it?

-:-

Omake Theatre: Mikaru, Hinata's inner voice

"M-Mikaru-san, what do you look like?" Hinata asked timidly, tapping the script to her lips. _"Well, I look exactly like you, only I'm a little more… outgoing than you are."_ Mikaru answered calmly. "R-Really? I can't believe you're supposed to look like me… you look so much prettier than I do…" Hinata commented. _"__Let my look be something to look forward to in the future –I'm supposed to be an older version of you."_ Mikaru laughed a bit.

"_Though, don't be surprised that a lot of guys would want to go out with you – it can get annoying."_She glanced backstage to a certain red-haired inner voice. He only responded with a smirk. Hinata nodded attentively. "I see… so tell me, what's it like in my head?" she asked. Mikaru smiled evilly. "_I can only see images of a certain boy…"_she trailed off, rolling her eyes to Gaara, who was currently staring at Hinata.

Hinata turned a dark red, pressing a finger to her lips to tell Mikaru to be quiet. "He's right there!" She hissed. That could have referred to either Deidara, who was sitting in the audience, or Gaara, who was watching backstage. Mikaru only laughed.

"A-Alright, that's all for today… th-thanks for reading…"

They heard someone running from backstage. "MIKARU-CHAAAAANNN!!" It was Shukaku – out to get Mikaru into a big hug. "Oh snap…!" Mikaru quickly stood up, getting ready to punch Shukaku in the gut. He didn't notice. "MIKARU-CHAN! LET'S GO OU-"

_PUNCH!!_

Gaara walked out from backstage, towards Hinata, who was currently worrying about the well-being about Shukaku. "Sh-Shukaku-san…!" Gaara leaned on Hinata's chair. "He's a man. S'fine." He said. "A-Are you sure?" Hinata squeaked in terror as Mikaru began beating the living shit out of Shukaku.

Ahem… That's all for this chapter. Thanks for reading…

A spine's not supposed to bend that way, Mikaru…

_CRACK!!_

Ouch.

Omake Theatre: Mikaru, Hinata's inner voice – end

-:-

Sorry for the long wait… and

YAY! I updated 'Hurt'! Raise your hand if you're proud of my success! –raises hand- XDDD

Bye.


	12. Beach Trip: Gaara's Confession

_So you're really okay with lying to both yourself and Deidara?_

_No… I'm not okay with that. At least… I shouldn't be…_

_Quit telling me what you shouldn't be doing! I'm telling you what you __**have**__ to do! _

_It's not that easy..._

_That's because you keep thinking like that! Grow some backbone!_

… _Ah, my phone's ringing…_

-:- Hinata's Morning -:-

"_Hello?_"

Hinata woke up a few seconds ago to the tune of the Hare Hare Yukai. Her ringtone. She had answered her cell phone and the one on the other line was the first to speak.

"Mmn… Sasori? What time is it?" she asked groggily. "_Oh, sorry, did I wake you?_" Sasori sounded concerned for a second. "Nah, I'm fine. What's up?" Hinata asked, rolling on her back. "_Alright. Well, I was just going to ask you if it's okay for you to go to the beach this weekend._" he tripped over his words a little bit. "Sure, if it's sunny. But what about the FMA cosplay shoot?" Hinata got a chance to glance at the clock. Almost 7. She had to get ready for school soon.

"_Yeah, about that. Well, the guys were thinking about having the shoot at the beach. You know, like 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Vacation at the Beach' and see what our fans think about it_." Sasori explained. Hinata smiled. "That sounds cool. I'm in." she said. "That's great! Okay, so what you need is-" there was a sudden shuffling sound.

"_Is that Hinata? Lemme talk to her!_"

"_Wait a second! I'm telling her what to bring tomorrow!_"

"_She's coming over later –tell her then! I wanna talk to her!_"

"_Why don't you talk to her when she comes over then!?_"

Hinata laughed. It sounded like Deidara just woke up. There were more shuffling sounds, a crashing noise, and then her boyfriend's voice went on the line. "_Hinata? Hi! It's me, Deidara!_" she could feel him grinning through the phone. "Hi, Deidara. What's up?" She greeted, smiling. "_Nothing much. Just wanted to hear your voice. It's been so long since I've talked to you!_" He almost sobbed. "You talked to me 8 hours ago. Last night, remember? Pein dropped me and Gaara off at my house and you left." Hinata explained. "_8 hours too long! When are you coming back?"_ he asked.

Hinata heard Sasori mutter, "_You told me she'd be here later. What happened to that?_" and laughed.

"_Well, hurry back here, okay? I think you have to get ready for school. Bye, love you._" Deidara hung up the phone. Hinata smiled, turned her phone off and got out of bed. She jumped when her alarm clock went off really loud. Sighing, she went to the bathroom and took a bath.

When Hinata finished, she went downstairs into the kitchen. "Oh. Hinata. Just the girl I wanted to see." Mrs. Hyuga said, a little less cheerful than usual. Hinata gave her a puzzled look before sitting down at the table. "Sure, Mom. What's up?" she asked. "Where were you last night?" Mrs. Hyuga asked. Hinata winced a little. "I was at the Akatsuki Base… sorry I came home so late – we were cleaning up a bit around the place and got a little carried away. By the time we finished it was already 11 and… Pein, the guy who owns the place drove me and Gaara home. Deidara was there too, just so you know, and he got a wrong turn and stuff and we had to drive five miles back to get back to our house and-" Hinata stopped when she heard her mother laugh.

"Alright, Alright. Just wondering. Don't need to recite a whole novel." Mrs. Hyuga chuckled. "I'll pass as much as I can to your father. " she added. "…Is he mad?" Hinata asked innocently. "Naw, he's actually happy that you're out of the house more than Neji. Besides, we both go to work and leave Hanabi with your grandmother all day. So we're glad we don't have to worry about you as much."Mrs. Hyuga shrugged. "Your father doesn't get mad much anymore because of that. LOL." Most times when a mother uses internet slang in real life you would be embarrassed. But the Hyugas could be the only people in the entire neighborhood who could get away with it. The family had that kind of vibe that no other had.

Hinata laughed a bit. "You're the coolest, Mom!" she stood up to hug her. "Oh! Gotta get ready for school! Do you have all your stuff?" Mrs. Hyuga asked. "Uh-huh. I guess I'd better get going—bye, love you!" Hinata started for the door, a nice smile on her face.

-:-Gaara's Morning -:-

"Gaara, wake up now. It's almost time for school." Temari sat beside Gaara on the bed, gently shaking him awake. He muttered incoherently and turned away from her. She huffed. Temari gripped the sheets and pulled them, throwing Gaara out of bed. "Gah!" he slammed against the wall across and cursed under his breath. "What the hell was that!?" he asked angrily, standing up. He took the sheets from Temari and tossed them onto the bed.

"Time for school, Gaara dear." Temari flashed him a sweet smile and walked out of the room. "Don't_ call_ me that!" Gaara shouted at her, grumbling to himself as he grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom for a shower.

When he finished, he rubbed his head with a towel and threw it around a chair in the kitchen. He looked at the clock and decided that he had time to eat before he had to go and pick Hinata up for school. While he was eating, his cell phone rang. He answered it without looking at the caller ID, thinking it was Hinata. "_Hello?_" A manly-voice-that-clearly-wasn't-Hinata's-but-still-familiar-voice spoke. "…Sasori?" he guessed. "_Yeah, hey. I was just wondering—what do you think of going to the beach this weekend? For the Fullmetal Shoot, hm?_" Sasori sounded a bit excited. "Is Hinata going?" he asked. "_…of course. Why __wouldn't she?_" Sasori laughed a bit. "Alright then. Tell me what to bring later, I gotta go." Without waiting for a reply, he closed the phone and shoved it in his pocket.

Gaara stood up, taking the piece of bread he was eating with him in his mouth as he slung his backpack around his shoulder. "Bye-Bye Gaara! Have a _great_ time at school!" Temari called as he made it to the door. Gaara sighed, slamming the door. _Honestly…_ he looked up at the sky, still trying to light up for the morning to shine through the clouds. He started down the sidewalk, plugging in his headphones and turning his iPod up to its near-max volume.

He walked straight up to Hinata's front door, raising a fist to knock on the door.

-:-

"—Bye, Love you!" Right when Hinata turned around, she squeaked to find herself face-to-face with Gaara. They both flinched back, Hinata tripping to the floor. Gaara quickly caught her, the two of them right in the view of the kitchen's open door. "My goodness, are you two alright?" Mrs. Hyuga asked. "Yeah, sorry." Gaara answered, smiling at Hinata. "Sorry, Mom. We'll be leaving now." Hinata smiled back at him. "Bye, have a great time at school!" Mrs. Hyuga waved to them.

"You okay?" Gaara asked as he closed the door behind them. Hinata walked ahead onto the sidewalk. "Yeah. Thanks for catching me." She laughed a bit. "No prob." Gaara slid to her side, taking hold of her hand and letting their fingers interlace. She paused for a second, looking up to Gaara. "…Did you grow taller while I wasn't looking?" she asked. Before, she was at his nose. Now she was at his shoulder. Gaara smirked. He suddenly had her pinned to the wall. "I dunno, did I?" he asked, towering over her against the wall. She blushed. "I-I-I guess you did!" she tried to laugh, but ended up gulping down air. He laughed, moving away. "Then I did." He shrugged, holding his hand out for her to take. Shyly she did.

"So, did Sasori call you this morning about that beach trip?" Gaara asked. "Uh huh. My alarm clock." She laughed a bit, still blushing from a few minutes ago. "You're going, right?" he asked. Hinata nodded. "Of course – I'm Winry, remember? I've gotta be there." She shrugged. "Are you gonna bring a swimsuit?" Gaara started imagining Hinata in a bikini and almost had a nosebleed at the thought. "Maybe… but I don't know if whatever I wear is very… 'Winry-ish', y'know?" Hinata giggled a bit.

The two walked through the doors of the school, their hands separating in an instant. "See you at lunch." Hinata said, waving to him as they walked to their first class.

-:-

"So whaddaya think? This one for Hinata? Or this one? Oh god, I can't choose! Both will be so _cute_ on her!" Deidara was holding up two bikinis, one that was dark blue and another that was a faded purple. Sasori just stared at her. "Uh… you do know that her hair will be dyed _blonde_ for the shoot, right?" he asked, laughing a bit at Deidara's overreaction. "_Blonde!?_ Outrageous! Unfathomable! Un…Un…Un-Hinata-ish!" he complained. "Too bad, it's for the shoot. At least you'll be able to see her in _one_ of those." He pointed to the pile of rejected bikinis beside Deidara. "Where did you get all those anyway?"

"I SHALL FIND ONE FIT FOR MY GIRLFRIEND!!" Deidara shouted dynamically, ignoring Sasori's question. Sasori sighed, turning to continuing to label the character's swimsuits and putting them in a bag. They heard a loud grumbling sound. "Hey, Dei. When was the last time we ate?" Sasori asked, patting his stomach. It gurgled in response. "I dunno… last Thursday? It scares me that that was over a week ago…" Deidara said, leaning forward with a sick expression. Then suddenly he shot up. "I know! Hinata and Gaara are eating lunch at school about now, right? I'll eat with her!" he headed for the door.

Sasori stood up, thinking that it was a good idea. But Deidara walked back to the pile of bikinis and grabbed them a handful at a time. "One of these has got to approve. I know it." He muttered to himself, shoving them in a bag and walking out the door again. Sasori sighed, following him.

In a few minutes they were at the school, both driven by hunger and their being tall (long legs, long strides). Deidara let himself in through the gates, ignoring the teachers that told him to stop. Sasori had to stop to apologize to them all, explaining their situation.

Deidara spotted Hinata through the window of the lunchroom and grinned. He casually opened the window and walked towards her. She didn't notice until he slammed the bag of bikinis on the table next to her. She squeaked in surprise, Gaara just staring blankly at him.

"Hinata!! I come bearing gifts of bikinis of many colors!" he announced a little too loudly. Hinata blushed from embarrassment. "D-Deidara! Wh-What are you doing here?!" she hissed, pulling him down to sit. Sasori sat down beside Gaara. "Sorry about that. Huge hurt to your dignity." He said. Gaara nodded.

Deidara kissed Hinata. "Hey, I was wondering – what color bikini do you want to wear to the shoot tomorrow?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her waist. He dug through the bag and pulled out the blue one he had earlier. "But there's just one problem –you're hair's gonna be dyed blonde. So I need your help to get me to decide on what you're gonna wear." He took a banana that was on Hinata's tray and pulled her arm out on the table. He put the banana on one side of her arm and a bikini top on the other to compare. (The banana was representing the color of blonde hair)

"Red is an option… Green is out. Black, of course an option. Blue maybe… Gray – ew. Disgusting." He muttered to himself. Hinata looked around and met the gaze of about a thousand people who were staring at them. "Okay, Black or Blue, Hinata?" Deidara asked, grinning. Hinata glanced at Sasori and Gaara, then turned back to Deidara. "Um… wh-what do you think looks better…?" she said hesitantly. Deidara thought a moment. "I'd say Black, but I wanna know what you think." He said. "B-Black is just fine…"

Deidara grinned again. "Alrighty then! Now that this is out of our way," he shoved all the clothes into the bag and put it in the chair next to him. "Can we share a lunch?" he leaned on Hinata and kissed her cheek. "Um… O-Okay. Go ahead, I already ate enough." Hinata slid the tray in front of Deidara, who gulped half of the tray down instantly. Surprised, she asked, "Deidara, when was the last time you ate?" sighing happily, Deidara patted his now nearly-full stomach. "I dunno, last Thursday? S'been a long time, I can tell you that." He said, licking his lips. Hinata stared at him worriedly.

"Do you guys want to come over later so we can cook you something?" she offered. Deidara brightened up a lot more, looking at Sasori and back to Hinata. "You bet! What time!?" he asked excitedly. Hinata laughed a little, smiling. "After school is just fine. It looks like lunch is almost over, so maybe you guys should leave soon." She said, looking at the clock. She also noticed that half of the people in the lunch room were gone. Sasori stood up. "Alright. We'll see you around 3:30. Thanks a bunch." He smiled at her.

When they left, there was an awkward silence between Gaara and Hinata.

"…Over a week of no eating, huh?" Hinata said. "That sucks." Gaara muttered. There was another pause. "Let's get to class?" he offered. "Sure." Hinata nodded, and the two of them stood up and left.

-:-

"Oh my god! It's the beach!" Hinata squealed, jumping towards the water excitedly. She's never been to a beach for more than ten minutes. Whenever she _did_ go to the beach, she'd accidentally fall asleep under the umbrella near the warm sand. By the time she woke up it was already time to leave. It was always depressing for her, but she followed everyone home so she wouldn't cause trouble. But this time was different; she'd be working. She'd be able to stay awake this time, swimming, laughing, playing… all under the watchful lens of Kakuzu's camera. Hey, it was better than nothing, alright?

It was Saturday afternoon, as you could probably tell, and just as they'd planned, the Akatsuki Cosplay Group was having its first cosplay shoot at the beach. Today's anime was Fullmetal Alchemist, by Hiromu Arakawa. Everyone was wearing some kind of bathing suit, one that was either matching their character or anime-related.

"Hinata! Look! The ocean is so blue!" Deidara wrapped an arm around Hinata before she could trip on a rock. Hinata looked up and grinned. "I know! It's so pretty!" she clapped her hands together and giggled. Gaara walked up beside them. He was wearing a shirt and swimming shorts. Temari had got him a waterproof eye patch just for this occasion.

"Gaara, did you see? It's the ocean!" Hinata laughed happily, pointing towards the sea. "Yeah, it's pretty hard to miss." Gaara shrugged, laughing a bit. "Ah! I know! It's huge!" Hinata added, sounding proud of herself that she realized it. "You look so cute, Hinata!" Deidara hugged and kissed her, twirling her around.

Hinata's hair was dyed blonde, combed to look like Winry Rockbell. She was wearing the black bikini that Deidara told her to wear, and the result was… well, amazing.

Itachi, the one playing Edward Elric (and the one who was taller than Hinata), walked up to the three and smiled a little. "Hinata, the guys decided to get all the pictures taken already so we can have fun later. Is that alright?" he asked. Hinata smiled at him. "Sure!" she giggled a little, then followed him to where everyone else was gathered.

-:- (Since the author is lazy, she shall describe the past hour's events in a single paragraph -:-

Well, when Itachi and Hinata got to everyone, they immediately got to work. The first picture was in the ocean, the second with everyone by a statue that was nearby. And the rest was in locations so random, it was almost funny. So when everything was finished, the people who had to dye their hair washed out in the bathrooms and put on different swimsuits for play-in-the-ocean fun. Happy?

"Hey! Deidara! Gaara! Look! I brought a floatie!" Hinata waved to them from her bag that was under an umbrella on the sand. She took out a flat (as in 'not blown up') rubber… thing and pressed her mouth to a hole at the edge. In one breath she blew it up and it was ready to float. "Look! It's round like a donut!" she giggled, running towards the water. In a few minutes she was floating around, sitting on top of the donut-floatie.

(**Floatie:** _n_ Hinata's word for one of those floating things people use in the water for fun. _Look at the paragraph above to find the word floatie._)

Deidara followed her, picking her up and sitting on the donut-floatie, twirling her around in the process. He sat her on his lap and laughed. "How awesome is this!?" he asked, kissing her. Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall. "I lub you!" Deidara gushed, rubbing his face against hers. "Get a room, you two." Gaara sighed, swimming on his back beside them.

"Oh! Hey, Gaara…" Hinata called him. He looked to her only to be splashed in the face with water. "GAAHK!" he swam away defensively, holding out an arm that threatened to splash back. Hinata giggled. "Come on! I saw in all those anime shows that when you're at the beach, you have to splash someone!" she smiled. Gaara smirked. "Alright, then get in the water and fight like a man." He said, laughing a little. Hinata scrambled to get off of Deidara, but fell in head first.

"Ah!" Hinata didn't resurface for almost a minute, which made the two worry a bit. But before Gaara could reach down to grab her, Hinata rose up, flailing her arms in the air, splashing water everywhere. "KAMEHAME-SPLASH!!" she shouted, making her own little joke about that famous move from Dragon Ball Z. (Ahem, KAAA MEEE HAAA MEEE HAAAAHHH!! –and kaboom-)

Gaara fell back into the water. Hinata laughed triumphantly, her hands on her hips. "Waah! Hinata, you scared me!" Deidara whined, wrapping his arms around Hinata's waist. "Sorry, I just wanted a dramatic surprise effect, y'know?" she kissed his cheek. Gaara sat up in the water. "I thought you drowned! Jeez!" he shouted. "S-Sorry…" Hinata said softly. Gaara sighed, splashing a little water to her. "Don't look so down when I get mad. It's nothing." He smiled a little when she seemed to cheer up.

--

It was a little later in the afternoon now, and Deidara had fallen asleep after swimming around the beach about a hundred times. Everybody ate, and were now hanging out near the water. Except for Hinata and Deidara, who was using her lap as a pillow. Hinata ate her sandwich while staring out at the near-setting sun. when she finished, she read manga for an hour so that she could go swimming again when she finished the book.

An hour did pass, and Deidara had rolled off her lap and onto a folded towel for a pillow. _He's really tired, isn't he?_ She thought, gently stroking his hair. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder; she turned and saw that it was Gaara. "He still sleeping?" he asked, glancing over at Deidara. "Yeah. Why?" Hinata asked. "Good. I got you to myself for a couple more hours." Gaara pulled her to her feet. She blushed a bit, looking at Deidara and then the unnoticing group near the water.

"I saw a small cave just off the shore. I thought I'd show you alone before Deidara woke up." Gaara held her hand as he led her to the donut-floatie that Hinata had. It had a smooth stick beside it, probably to serve as an ore to row them towards the cave. "If we go this way, they won't see us. Come on." Gaara sat down on the floatie and motioned for her to sit on his lap. Hinata glanced both ways, as if looking for a way to get away from him. He frowned. "You don't want to go?" he asked, sounding disappointed. Hinata gasped. "N-No! That's not it! I-It's just that… well…" she paused. "…Nothing, actually." She carefully sat on his lap and he slid the floatie onto the water.

"You know, we're still pretty close to the others. If you want to go back –" Hinata cut him off. "Nuh-uh! This sounds fun! Like a mini-adventure for just the two of us!" Gaara smiled at 'just the two of us'. "Alright. We're almost there, so just hang tight." He said, feeling her wrap an arm around him so that she wouldn't fall. "I can't wait." She sighed, giggling a bit as they made it onto the shore of the cave.

Gaara had an arm wrapped around Hinata's waist as they walked up to the opening. "I thought you said it was small." Hinata laughed a little. "Well, it's small compared to what I've seen." Gaara shrugged, leading her in. It wasn't far before they noticed that they were going downward. "Hm. I wonder where this leads to." He wondered aloud. The two saw a light at the end of the tunnel they were in. "I see the light!" Hinata joked, walking a little faster towards the light. Gaara held onto her tightly, afraid that she might fall.

They reached the light, and they gasped at what they saw. "Wow…" Hinata sighed, looking at the small clearing of a lake before her. In the center was the trunk of a tree, glowing naturally from the glistening of the rocks above it. There was a small opening at the top of the cave, massive roots blocking water from caving in on them. Gaara grinned, leading them down towards the water. Hinata giggled, swimming around and enjoying the view above. It was dark, but it was lit from the shining rocks. Hinata compared it to the night sky dotted with stars.

On the water, Hinata saw the reflection of a few glistening dots that resembled a heart. She swam over to it and turned to Gaara. "Gaara! Look! A heart!" she giggled, tracing the reflection with her finger. Gaara swam over to where she was, looking at the reflection and then to the actual glistening rocks. He smiled. Silently, he wrapped an arm around her waist. She didn't notice, still looking at the other reflections on the water.

"Hinata…" Gaara whispered. A drop of water fell from Gaara's hair and onto Hinata's head, catching her attention. She looked up to him. "Yes?" she answered softly. He stared at her for a while. Then, slowly, he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. She gasped a little, but a few seconds later melted into it. Hesitantly she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. They parted for air for a second before kissing again, this time a little more passionate. His breath clouded her mind, and her hand ran over his chest and found his arms. His hands found hers and they held each other's hands, their fingers interlacing.

Hinata heard a soft chuckling from the back of her head. _I told you…_ it said. Suddenly, Hinata's eyes opened wide, and she pushed Gaara away. He looked sad for a second, but understood her situation the next. "I-I… I'm sorry!" she gasped, touching her lips. Gaara started towards her, but Hinata swam a little ways back. "I… We… I shouldn't have let you…" She stammered, feeling tears burning at the edges of her eyes. Gaara had a sad expression on his face, feeling sorry that he caused her so much… so much confusion. "I'm sorry." He mouthed to her, afraid that his voice would break her.

He saw tears leak from her eyes as she made her way towards the way they came. He followed her silently, glancing back at the heart reflection in the water. It was distorted from the ripples they caused from moving. Gaara sighed, trailing behind Hinata as they walked toward the entrance of the cave. Hinata sat on the donut-floatie, her legs in the hole so that there was a distance between them even in that small space. Gaara followed suit, rowing them slowly back to shore.

He studied her carefully. She was biting her lip and looking away, the tears stopping their flow a while ago. She was clutching one of the handles of the floatie tightly. Gaara hated seeing her like that. "Hinata…" he whispered. Hinata winced as he said her name. He bit his lip. He stopped rowing for a minute, making her look up at him. Her eyes asked him why he stopped. "Listen to me." He told her gently. Hinata looked away from him again, making him growl in annoyance. "Don't make me yell. The others are close enough that they will hear." He said.

Gaara saw tears at the corner of her eyes. _**Oh God, look what you did. She's crying. **__Not now. I know. It's entirely my fault._ He narrowed his eyes.

"Hinata." He said her name loud enough so that she couldn't ignore him. "Don't." she knew what he was going to say. "I will." He said. Hinata shook her head, holding her hand to her mouth. "Hinata, I—" he felt her put a hand over his. He ignored this action, feeling almost angry.

"Hinata Hyuga, I _love_ you!"

Everything fell silent. Even his racing thoughts were muted in his head.

Without another word, Gaara started rowing them back towards the shore.

Deidara was still sleeping, and the others had fallen asleep… with the ocean as their blanket. Everything but their heads were covered in water.

--

"Hey guys! It's time to go!" Pein called as everyone bounded into the van (that was provided by the Uchihas, of course.) "Alright, so me and Konan rented out this place close by as our small vacation spot. So we're going there for a while before we—" he was cut off when Deidara said in an excited voice, "We're going to start a bonfire, right?" he wrapped an arm around Hinata and held her close. "Yeah. See those hills over there? We're gonna drive up there and party. Keep the whole town awake, y'know?" Pein chuckled a little.

"You excited? It's gonna be so much fun!" Deidara kissed Hinata on the cheek, grinning with excitement. "I guess." She responded softly, looking to the ground. He stared worriedly at her. "You okay?" he asked, rubbing her arm gently. "Yeah… I guess I'm just tired." Hinata smiled a little at him, then turned back to the floor. "…If you say so."

Gaara glanced at Hinata now and then, wishing he didn't confess to her back there. He caused her so much trouble already – how could he just add to her worries like that? He growled a little to himself.

Deidara looked at Gaara and then Hinata. _Did he do something while I was asleep?_ He thought, half-glaring at Gaara. He didn't notice.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the small-yet-is-still-able-to-hold-a-lot-of-people house that Pein and Konan rented. Everyone brought their stuff in, dropped it in their rooms and set everything up. Deidara and Hinata shared one room, Pein and Konan in another, and the rest had separate rooms. Pein gave everyone twenty minutes to get settled and then they would head for the bonfire hill.

Hinata moved her bag to under the bed, leaving out her pajamas for later. Deidara noticed her sad look and put his hand over hers. She looked at him. "Are you alright?" Deidara asked in a serious tone. Hinata looked away from him, but he tilted her chin up to look at him. "…Did Gaara do something to you?" he asked. Hinata blushed, closing her eyes. _How does he know?_ She thought. She felt Deidara wrap his arm around her waist. "Did he?" he demanded. Hinata shook her head. "It's nothing. Why Gaara?" she tried to sound casual. "Well… he was looking at you in the car… and he looked guilty. Are you sure he didn't do anything? To you?"

Hinata leaned up to kiss him. "It's nothing." She assured him, standing up. Deidara followed her to the window. He wrapped his arms around her as she stared out the window, kissing her head and trailed down her neck. His hands held hers briefly before sliding up her arms and wrapping around her again. "I love you." He whispered to her. Hinata shuddered at the words. Who would have thought the three words would sound so different from two different people?

"I…" Hinata thought that she should respond, but found that she couldn't. Deidara kissed her neck again. "You…?" he waited for her to continue. Hinata bit her lip. "I… I-I love you too." The words burned in her mouth. Why was it hurting now? _You're saying it to the wrong guy._ Her voice told her.

There was a loud knocking on the door. "We're leaving soon; get ready, okay?" it was Pein. "Yeah." Deidara answered. He swayed Hinata from side to side. "Do you want to go?" he asked, his tone back to worry. Hinata turned and hugged him. "Of course! I know that you've been excited about this and… I don't want to bring your day down. So I'll go." She said, leaning up to kiss him but missed; she kissed his chin. He laughed a little. "My girl comes first. If you're not feeling well, I can stay here to keep you company." He offered. Hinata shook her head. "I don't mind. Really."

Deidara smiled at her. "Okay, but the second you feel bad, you'd better tell me. Or I'll punish you." He nosed her cheek and kissed her. "Um… O-Okay." Hinata hugged him. They heard the car starting. "I think we'd better go now. You all ready?" Deidara asked, walking towards the door. Hinata nodded, following him and taking his hand. "Yeah. Let's go."

-:-

Omake Theatre: Afternoon Snack at Hinata's house / Getting Permission

Hinata opened the door to the house, asking Deidara and Sasori to wait outside. "Mom, is it okay that I brought a few friends to come over for a snack? They haven't eaten in a long time and—" she was cut off when her mother said, "Are one of those friends Deidara?" Hinata nodded. "How'd you know?" she asked. "I see blonde hair outside, and last time I checked Gaara was a red-head." Hinata laughed a little. "Well, the other one is another friend from that Cosplay group I joined, and Gaara's here too." She explained. Mrs. Hyuga smiled. "Alright then, come in then!"

Sasori smiled at Mrs. Hyuga. "Thank you very much." He said, following Hinata to the kitchen. Mrs. Hyuga gasped, suddenly holding Sasori's face in her hands. He seemed surprised for a second, but calmed down a bit. Only a bit. "U-Um… Mrs. Hyuga?" he started. "You are so cute!!" Mrs. Hyuga shouted. Sasori heard Deidara snort behind him. "Can I adopt you!? Seriously, man! Hinata look at him!"

Hinata smiled hesitantly. "M-Mom, I think you're scaring him… I mean, you just met the guy." She said, trying to calm her mother down. Mrs. Hyuga let Sasori go. "Oh. I'm sorry, how about I cook you your favorite meal then?" Mrs. Hyuga moved into the kitchen. "What're you hungry for, boys?" she asked, turning on the light above the stove and opening the fridge. "Anything you cook is fine, Mrs. Hyuga." Sasori said, sitting in the chair farthest away from where she would be cooking.

Mrs. Hyuga slammed her hands on the counter, making everyone jump. She sounded like she was crying. Suddenly she turned to Sasori and yelled, "After I freaked you out a few minutes ago, you still find it in your heart to be polite to me! That's so nice of you! I'll cook you everything I know how to just to make up for all your kindness!" Mrs. Hyuga began cooking rapidly, ignoring the protests from Hinata. In about a minute, about three dishes were on the table.

"Th… Thank you, Mrs. Hyuga." Sasori said when he saw that Mrs. Hyuga was cleaning up. "No problem!" she sighed, saluting. Deidara chuckled. "You're mom's really nice, Hinata!" he commented. "Aw, thank you, Deidara-dear!" Mrs. Hyuga blushed, grinning at him.

--

A few minutes passed into the ridiculously large meal, and since he was sure that she would forget, Sasori decided to ask permission for Hinata to go to the Beach trip.

"Mrs. Hyuga?" he started, watching as her head popped up from her almost-nap. "Y-Yes?" She stammered, just realizing that she was almost falling asleep. "Um… Well, we were planning a beach trip for this weekend. Can Hinata go?" Sasori asked, smiling at her to assure a 'yes.' Mrs. Hyuga looked at 

Hinata and then at Deidara and then back to Sasori. "Of course she can! Does she need to bring anything special?" she asked. Sasori smiled a little wider. "Just a pack of clothes to last two days. We'll only be gone Saturday and Sunday to swim at the beach." He said.

"Sure, sure. Have fun, you guys." Mrs. Hyuga waved a hand dismissively in the air. She stood up and began walking to the stairs. "I think I'm getting old… I need a nap…" She laughed a little. "Alright, Mom. See you later." Hinata waved. "Bye mommy!" Deidara called. "Night, Night, Dei-chan." Mrs. Hyuga answered, giggling a bit.

For the first time since they came here, Gaara laughed. "What?" Hinata asked. "…Hehe… 'Dei-chan'… funny." He grinned.

Omake Theatre: Afternoon Snack at Hinata's House / Getting Permission – End

-:-

Anybody here into the anime/manga Special A? I love it X3

And by the way, if anyone's wondering how the others get their meals, they eat at Itachi's house all the time. Deidara and Sasori choose not to go since dear Mrs. Uchiha already has a lot of people to take care of.


	13. Beach Trip: The Break Up

Hinata stared at the fire, sitting on a nearby log. It was dark, the only light coming from the burning wood at the center of the circle of log benches. There was a light breeze, and the scent of the ocean carried from the beach below. The others were talking and laughing to each other about random subjects for the time being. She looked up, meeting the gaze of blue-ish green, black rimmed eyes. (Or eye. Eye patch, remember?)

Gaara stared at her, ignoring the fact that she was staring back. He saw her turn away, blushing. _**Congratulations. You've officially made your friendship more awkward than meeting a girlfriend's parents. **_Shukaku commented from the back of his head. He growled at him to shut up. Shukaku's laugh was mocking him afterwards. _I'll fix that up when I find the chance to talk to her after this._

_**But hey, I got something happy to tell you. **__And what's that? __**Mikaru-chan says that Hinata loves you too! Now if only she'd say that she loves me too…**__ who, Hinata? You sick—__**no! I meant Mi**_**karu!**_… Oh._

_Hinata loves me too…_ _Then what the hell was the problem!?_ He thought to himself. Then Deidara got in the way of his view of Hinata. _Oh. Right._

Suddenly the fire roared, growing bigger in size for an instant before settling down. Pein walked up to the fire, a mischievous look on his face. "Let's tell scary stories!" he commanded, throwing something into the fire that made it roar and grow big like it did a few seconds ago. He laughed maniacally, the shadow from the fire hiding his eyes. Creepy.

Deidara moved to sit beside Hinata, holding her hand excitedly. She smiled a little to him, leaning on his shoulder. She glanced towards the place where Gaara was supposed to be, but he wasn't there. Puzzled, she looked around to find that he was sitting beside her on the log. She gasped slightly, blushing and scooting closer to Deidara. He looked at her, a little confused. "He didn't start the story yet, Hinata." He said, rubbing her arm to warm her up a little. "I-I know… J-Just practicing…" Deidara laughed, kissing her head. "Alright." He noticed Gaara sitting beside her and pulled Hinata closer around her waist. _I want to hold on to her as long as I can… before I have to let her go._ He thought, leaning his head on hers.

Gaara sighed, resting his head in his palm. Just a few hours ago, he had confessed his love to Hinata, and in a way he didn't want. He was angry at the time. Not at her, but at himself. He wanted his confession to be at a more convenient time for her…

In front of them Pein started his story. It was something about a girl going into a haunted house. A pretty lame story, and he seemed more scared than anybody from it. Gaara only bothered to listen to a phrase from the story that got him off any kind of story telling party with the Akatsuki for good: "And the girl said, 'Mr. Ghost, what pretty piercings you have!'" he heard the others snicker at the words.

Thank the heavens for this, Pein ended his story on a bad cliffhanger that involved the girl falling into a trap door. He told someone to continue from where he left off.

"It was a bottomless pit that led straight to the depths of Hell. Though, it wasn't bottomless because whatever level of hell you die in is where you stop." Gaara said suddenly. Everyone went "Oooh…" in 

sudden interest of Gaara's little story continuation. Pein looked offended for a minute. "Please continue, Gaara." Sasori said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "Yeah, come on!" Hidan agreed.

Gaara saw Hinata glance at him with slight interest. That was all he needed to go on.

"So the girl was falling, right? She went missing for three days until she finally hit what felt like a floor." He took a breath. "She landed in a pool of blood, she realized, and desperately tried to swim out. But the reason she hit a pool of blood was because falling was out of style – so they switched to swimming." Everyone laughed a bit at the joke. Gaara shrugged. "An' that's all I got. Anyone care to continue?" he offered.

"So when she finally got tired of swimming…" Hinata started shyly. "…she started calling for help. But the blood flooded into her mouth and she was pulled under by a skeletal hand…"

"And found herself staring into the eyes of Satan! 'Welcome to Hell' he croaked, laughing like crazy as flames took her over…"

And the rest of the night went like that until it was almost 2 in the morning. Everyone decided to go back and sleep. Hinata fell asleep before the story finished, so Deidara had to carry her to the car. When they sat in the back, Deidara snuggled next to her like she was a doll. It was cute, if not somewhat creepy. No one thought it was weird; they would've done the same thing if they could get girlfriends as cute as Hinata.

As the group drove back to the cabin, Sasori noticed how Gaara seemed different from the rest of them. "Gaara, I can't help but notice that you don't look sleepy at all." he yawned, looking at Gaara. He shrugged. "I almost never sleep anyway. I'm used to it." He said in a bored tone, staring out the window. "Oh, so that stuff around your eye _isn't_ make-up?" Hidan teased. Everyone laughed a little. "Shut up." Gaara growled.

Pretty soon they made it to the house and even sooner everyone was cleaned up and ready to go to bed.

Deidara carefully lay Hinata onto the bed, brushing the hair from her face. He smiled, leaning down to kiss her. But before he could, he heard her whisper something in her sleep.

"…Gaa…ra…"

He frowned, moving away. He threw off his clothes from today and changed into something to sleep in. Then he crawled into bed beside Hinata and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Not yet…" he murmured in a low voice, burying his face into her hair. He kissed her bare shoulder and tried to fall asleep.

--

Gaara lay in the dark on his bed, staring at the darkness that was supposed to be the ceiling. He thought about how he kissed Hinata back in that cave… her lips were so soft and… he's never wanted her more 

than he did back then. He could feel his face heat up a little. Shaking his head, he turned to lie on his stomach. He felt almost ashamed that he wanted her in _bed _now. He sighed and closed his eyes. Hinata popped into his mind again, as usual.

"_Gaara!" _she giggled. It was disturbing to him how he memorized her laugh. _"Come on! Let's go somewhere today!"_ That three-note giggle…

He sat up in bed. "Grah!" he threw himself back onto the bed, his head hitting the headboard. "Shit!" he clutched the sore spot and cursed to himself. Hinata was driving him absolutely _crazy_!

--

Deidara felt Hinata wake up in his arms. He moved a little so that she could stretch a bit. "Mmn… Deidara?" she rubbed her eyes while looking at him. "I'm right here. What's up?" he asked, kissing her head. Hinata smiled. "How did the girl get out of marrying the devil…?" she asked. "Well… she fell in love with another person and… their love was stronger than the bonds Satan put on the girl. So she and the guy ran away together and lived happily ever after." Deidara pulled her closer to him, raising her up a little so that he could kiss her full on the lips.

"She fell in love… I'm so glad…" Hinata began to nod off back to sleep. Deidara kissed her before she could. "I love you, Hinata." He said firmly, looking her straight in the eye. She couldn't look away – his look was too intense. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Deidara hugged her even tighter. "I… I-I…" Hinata felt him loosen his hug a little bit. She clutched his shirt, trying to get the words out so that he wouldn't feel hurt. When she felt 'I love you, too' at the tip of her tongue, Deidara spoke.

"You… don't have to lie anymore. I can take it." Deidara looked at her and smiled sadly. Hinata looked back with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry." She whispered. He only nodded. "Just… let us last until we get you back home." He said softly, pulling her into a small kiss. Hinata squeaked when he rolled on his back and made her lie on top of him. "Now you're gonna go for Gaara, right?" he asked casually. Hinata blushed. "But… I don't know if he still… I mean, it's like…"

Deidara listened carefully. "...You know when you were still asleep at the beach?" Hinata began. Deidara nodded. "Well… Gaara took me to this cave where…" she told him about when Gaara confessed to her. Then Deidara took a moment to register the information. "He kissed you behind my back?" he asked, laughing a bit. "That was pretty brave of him." Hinata blushed. "Did you like it?" he asked. He saw her blush an even darker red. "Haha, I thought so."

They heard footsteps outside their door and a toilet flush from the bathroom. "Sounds like they're waking up now. Do you want to get up now too?" Deidara asked, sitting up. Hinata yawned and stretched. "Okay…" she had her hands behind her head, relaxing a bit. Deidara eyed her chest for a little bit and sighed. "What?" Hinata asked. "…We didn't even get to have sex…" Deidara said in a depressed tone. "Eh!? S-S-Se…!?" she stuttered, blushing. "Yeah, you know, 'In and out, in and out'…?" Deidara made the motion with his hands, laughing when Hinata turned an even darker red. "Gaara's one lucky guy to get someone like you as his first."

Hinata covered her face from embarrassment. Deidara grinned at her, kissing her cheek. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He carried her bridal style and got off the bed. He gently placed her on the floor, wrapping an arm around her waist so that she wouldn't fall. "I'll miss that too." He murmured, opening the door.

"Morning, guys." Konan greeted them from the living room. "Hey. Is the leader up yet?" Deidara asked. "Yeah. You guys wanna go back to the beach today?" she asked. "Sure. We can have breakfast over there." Deidara said, grinning. "Ah, good idea. Let's go wake everyone up then; I'll tell Pein." Konan got up and walked toward the room where she and Pein were staying in. A few minutes later, they heard a "THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!!" From the room.

Then a long silence followed. Deidara gently nudged Hinata in the arm. "I'll let you wake up Gaara, okay?" he had a smirk on his face. "No! I-I think he's mad at me…" Hinata looked at the door to Gaara's room and then back at Deidara. "Can't you do that? I'll wake up everyone else!" she offered. "Nu-uh. You've gotta do it." Deidara shook his head. Hinata groaned in disappointment and reluctantly made her way to Gaara's room. "You can do it!" Deidara cheered in a whispery voice, laughing a little. Hinata blushed.

-:- While Gaara was… -:-

As usual, Gaara didn't get a wink of sleep. He just laid there, daydreaming about Hinata and whatnot. Though, since it was early morning, he was… morning dreaming? Night dreaming? _Dreaming?_ It didn't matter. Either way, he had Hinata on his mind and he wasn't doing the most innocent things to her.

This happened all night until he heard someone walk out into the living room. People were waking up soon. He heard Hinata and Deidara talking, but didn't know what they were talking about. But when they walked out into the living room, he heard that they were going to eat breakfast at the beach. He ignored what they said afterwards. That is, until he heard a soft tapping on his door.

"G-Gaara? U-Uhm… I-I don't know if y-you can hear me, b-but… i-it's time t-to w-wake up now…" Hinata's soft squeak came from behind the door. Gaara paused, trying to think rationally for a minute. _Gaara, think straight. The tension between you two has been established after you confessed to her. And plus, you've been dreaming about her all night, so this might be one of them. There's no way she'd be at your door right now with the way things are going now…_

He heard her jiggle the knob of the door a little before knocking a little louder. "Gaara?" she said a little louder.

Hinata turned to Deidara. "I told you!" she said. "He's mad!"

Gaara was sure this time. He jumped out of bed and swung the door open before Hinata could walk away. "Hinata!" he breathed. He looked at Deidara and then at Hinata. "Oh! Gaara, it's time to wake up now, so if you can—" Gaara pulled Hinata into the room and closed the door. He didn't see Deidara even flinch. _Does he not care anymore?_ He thought, confused.

He locked the door off reflex and froze when he heard Hinata squeak in surprise. _What did I just…_ he looked at his hand that was on the lock of the door. Then he looked at Hinata who was blushing. "G-G-Gaara?" He knew that she's seen many shows that have told her that when a guy locks the door after taking a girl into a room, most cases the two _do it._ And that was _not_ what he was trying to get across. "Hinata…! Wait! Th-That's not what I'm trying to –" he stopped when he heard Shukaku laugh.

Sighing, Gaara left the door as it was and walked toward her. He pushed her so that she was on the bed, lying on her back. He slowly moved on top of her, pinning her arms down gently. She didn't seem so resistant like she should have been – providing that she was still with Deidara. Which was a fact that he couldn't help but question. Deidara was standing right behind her and yet he let him pull her into his room.

Hinata turned a darker red. "Gaara?" she whispered. "… What were you two talking about?" Gaara asked; he relaxed his arms and leaned closer to Hinata's face, both of them closing their eyes. "Me and Deidara?" Hinata asked softly. "Yes…" Gaara breathed, slowly nodding his head to take in her scent. "We… We broke up." She said in a whisper. Gaara stopped to look at her. "You did?" he asked, surprised. "Uh-huh… I think… I think he knew that I loved…" she stopped lamely, hesitantly looking into Gaara's eyes.

He kissed her passionately, both of them blushing a bit. "But…" Hinata started when they parted for air. Gaara listened quietly, moving so that his head was beside hers on the bed. "… As a cover for the others, me and Deidara are just going to keep up our relationship until after the trip's over." Gaara frowned for a minute before he felt Hinata's arms wrap around his neck. "After that, you can have me all to yourself." She whispered, giggling a bit. Gaara paused, then wrapped an arm around her. "Alright." He got off of her and unlocked the door.

"By the way… why did you lock the door?" Hinata asked curiously, blushing a little. "Huh? Oh, just a reflex. Usually I'm the last one home so I have to lock the door behind me and… yeah." He said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Hinata smiled. "I see. Okay, I'll see you later." She waved and then walked to Deidara.

Gaara sighed, grinning. _**Well, well! Lucky you. **__…Happy moment ruined thanks to you._ Gaara huffed, walking back into his room to change.

-:-

"Hey guys! I brought my iPod and speakers!" Hidan shouted happily, digging the speakers in the ground and putting in his iPod. "Hidan, that's not yours, it's Hinata's!" Kakuzu yelled. "I know… but I like the songs she put in here…" Hidan pouted. Hinata laughed a little. "That's no reason to take credit for what's not yours!" Kakuzu shouted.

"Shuffle Songs!!" Hidan proudly pressed the center button and raised the volume to its fullest.

Dead! by My Chemical Romance

"WOO HOO!! MCR FTW!!" Hidan cheered.

"Alright everybody, let's eat! Savor it, it's probably going to be the last meal we have at the beach!" Pein announced, handing everyone the food they ordered from McDonald's.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUWWWWWW!! PICKLES!! THEY'RE DISGUSTING!!" Hidan held out the slice of green vegetable in front of him, looking at it with disgust. "WHY DID YOU GIVE ME PICKLES, LEADER!?" Hidan asked accusingly. "Well why didn't you tell me to order it plain?" Pein asked in a bored tone. "DIE, CURSED PICKLES!! HIIIIYYAAAAHHHH!!"Hidan threw the disgusting vegetable out to the sea. "Ah! Into the ocean!" Everyone said, surprised at the action.

Hinata laughed. "I don't like pickles either…" she said. "Oh, I'm sorry, Hinata. I didn't know. Please forgive me." Pein apologized formally. "N-No, it's fine." Hinata waved a hand in the air dismissively. "WHY DO YOU ONLY APOLOGIZE TO HER!?" Hidan whined.

"God, you are the most _annoying_ creature in existence!" Kakuzu shouted. "You're the _ugliest!_ Take that, 'Kuzu!" Hidan said proudly. Kakuzu only sighed.

Gaara stood up and stretched, putting his garbage back into the bag. "Now, what to do for a whole hour before swimming…" he said to himself. He glanced at Hinata and saw that she was reading manga. He did too, reading over her shoulder. Hinata noticed and giggled a bit. She moved a little so that he could see better. "Thanks." He said, smiling.

"Hey there… I see that Hinata and Gaara have made up… from whatever it was that they were having a fit about." Sasori said, nudging Deidara in the arm. "Yeah." He looked down for a second. "Somethin' wrong?" Sasori asked. "No… in fact, everything's just right now." Deidara said, smiling a little to himself.

"Me and Hinata broke up." He announced finally.

"What? Why?" Sasori asked, surprised. "Well… we both knew what was up. She didn't love me like I loved her… so we let each other go." Deidara shrugged, opening one eye to look at Sasori. "Oh. So now she's with Gaara?" Deidara nodded. "But not until the end of the trip. Don't tell anyone until then, okay?" he pressed a finger to his lips. "Sure. But… Dang, you got my hopes up for a second." Sasori sighed. "Why? You liked Hinata?" Deidara looked at him curiously. "Uh-huh. I mean, _look_ at her! She is the most _gorgeous_ piece of woman I've seen in my entire lifetime! I bet you everyone in the present Akatsuki likes her!" Sasori paused, then relaxed. "But now it's useless – she likes Gaara. Nothing we can do." He shrugged.

Deidara smiled a little more. "Yeah…"

--

The rest of the day consisted of splashing with a soundtrack. Deidara tried to stay as near Hinata as possible until the day was over. When they got back into the van, everyone was exhausted. "Phew… that was fun, wasn't it?" Sasori sighed, leaning back in his seat. "I can't wait to get to bed…" Hinata said, 

giggling a bit. "Speaking of that…" Deidara leaned a little closer to her, whispering, "Where are you going to sleep tonight?" Hinata thought for a minute. "Just for tonight." She whispered back.

Soon it was nighttime, and everyone was in their rooms.

"I can't believe it. My last night in a bed with you." Deidara sobbed, hugging Hinata tightly from behind as they lay down on the bed. "Yeah… but hey, we'll still be friends, right?" Hinata patted his arm lightly as it wrapped tighter around her. "Of course! Anything to be near you like this!" Deidara buried his face in her back. Hinata managed to turn around to hug him back. "That's so nice of you... Thank you!"

Deidara pulled her face up and kissed her deeply. After a few moments he pulled away, their lips making a small sound as he did so. "I love you." He said softly. "I'll always love you. I hope you and Gaara are happy together." He saw tears escape her eyes and wiped them away. "Why are you crying?" he asked, leaning his head against hers. "Y-You just s-sound so… so sad! I-I'm sorry that I don't love you like you wanted me to! I'm sorry—" Deidara stopped her. "It's alright… I'll be fine as long as you're happy." He nosed her cheek, blushing a bit when he felt her tears fall on his face.

"Deidara!" Hinata sobbed. Deidara closed his eyes. "Sleep now. Don't want to be tired for the trip back." Hinata just cried more. Deidara just let her. "Shh… It's okay. It's okay." He stroked her hair.

"B-But –"

"It's okay."

--

Hinata never thought that breaking up with someone you really liked would be so… tear-filled. But it wasn't because they were separating that she was crying – it was because she had someone else to love even more… and he didn't.

-:-

Omake Theatre: Shukaku and Mikaru

_**Mikaru-chaan! Let's go on a date! **_Shukaku waved happily at Hinata's Inner Voice and ran (skipped) to her. Mikaru turned her head slightly to look at him. _Okay. Let's._ she said in a flat tone. But tone didn't matter to Shukaku – it was the words. _**–Gasp!- Really!? Let's go then!**_ Shukaku took Mikaru's arm and led her outside, both of them frolicking through a sudden field of flowers.

--

_**Hehe… Mikaru-chan! Mikaru-chan!**_

Gaara growled. _Is he dreaming of that lady __again__!? Sheesh, talk about annoying! _

Just let him sleep for now, everyone. Make his dream a little more special ;)

-:-

The end (of this story) is near.


	14. Maybe It's Not Okay!

Since it was a holiday this Monday, the Akatsuki decided to just hang out at the base until nightfall.

Deidara and Gaara escorted Hinata home when they got back from the beach trip. They walked up to Hinata's front door. "Thanks for taking me to the beach… I had fun." She smiled at Deidara. He hugged her tightly. "No problem. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he said, pecking her cheek. He let go and started walking to the sidewalk, stopping at the gate to wait for Gaara.

Gaara only gave Hinata a quick hug before walking down to Deidara. She looked disappointed for a minute, but waved good-bye to them until they were out of sight. Then she walked into the house and into her room.

Hinata got ready for bed as soon as she told her parents that she was home. She took a quick shower and dressed into shorts and a shirt. Since she never directly went to bed after getting ready, she sat at her desk and tapped her pencil on the wood until an idea for a drawing came into her head. Usually she would be drawing after the first five minutes of thinking, but so far, the only things in her head were Gaara. It was a little stressful, but thinking of him wasn't so bad anymore. (It never was, but…)

She jumped a little when she heard a soft tapping noise from her window. She stood up and opened the curtains and opened the window, peeking outside when she saw that nothing was there. "Must've been a tree…" she thought, moving to close the window again; but a hand held it up before she could. She almost screamed, but cut herself off when she saw Gaara motion for her to be quiet. He smiled at her and silently hopped in through her window, sitting on the windowsill.

Hinata backed away a little, giving him room to step in. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a whispery voice, closing the window when he got off the windowsill. Gaara grinned at her. "I wanted to ask you something." He said. "Is it too important to go over on Yahoo Messenger?" she hissed, moving to peek out the door to see if anyone would hear. "Actually, Yes." He took her arm and made her sit on the bed, his hands on her shoulders. "What is it?" she asked.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Gaara asked. Hinata smiled at him. "I thought I already was." She said softly. Gaara's hands slid down her arms and he pulled her into a kiss. "I know. I just thought I'd ask." He laughed a little, hugging her. "It's kinda weird… you being at my house at night." Hinata said after a while. "Why? I've been here at night before…" he stroked her hair and let his lips brush against her head. "Yeah, but now you're in my room… late at night… and no one but me knows you're here." She felt him pull away from her; she looked at him.

"What are you implying?" he asked, a small smirk playing on his face. Hinata blushed. She didn't _mean_ to imply something… "N-Nothing…" she looked away for a second, trying to avoid the awkwardness. Gaara suddenly picked her up, lay down on the bed and placed her on top of him. She turned an even darker red as his hands wrapped around her waist under her shirt. "Wh-What are you doing!?" She asked, careful not to raise her voice. Ignoring her question, Gaara kissed her until she completely relaxed on top of him.

"You're sleepy, I'm cold. This works out." He said. "B-But… On _top_ of you…?" Hinata asked dazedly, looking at him with half-lidded eyes. "Why not?" Gaara chuckled, absently playing with her hair. She stayed silent, not bothering to come up with an answer. She _was_ sleepy, and he _did_ feel cold as his hands went back under her shirt and rested on her back. So maybe there wasn't anything wrong with this. But… she felt that something was missing. Like she was supposed to do just one more thing to make this moment absolutely perfect. _Oh… I know…_

"Gaara." She said, opening her eyes (she hadn't realized that she closed them) to look at him. He replied with a small grunt, his left eye opening to look back at her. "I love you." She moved to kiss his cheek, but he tilted his head so that their lips met instead. "I love you, too, Hinata."

--

"Hey, Hinata, come on, wake up!" Hinata heard Neji's voice that morning. "You _and_ Gaara. Come on, time for breakfast!" he continued. _Gaara…? Is he here?_ She started to get up, but found that she couldn't. She looked under her and found a sleeping Gaara holding her down. She squeaked with surprise. "F-Five minutes… please…" she said awkwardly. Neji sighed, rolling his eyes. "Hurry, okay?" he said, walking out of the room.

Hinata waited for the door to close before turning back to Gaara. She was about to pat his face gently to get him to wake up, but suddenly his eye opened. "Is he gone?" he asked. Hinata blushed a dark red, nodding slowly. "Oh. Good. You said five minutes, right?" he rolled over so that he was on top. "U-Uh…! W-Wait… are Mom and Dad mad?" Hinata started. She was about to say something else, but Gaara kissed her before she could. "Your mom found me a little after you fell asleep. She said it was fine and asked me what I wanted for breakfast." He explained quickly before sneaking another kiss.

"Oh… Okay." She paused. "What'd you want for breakfast?" she asked, making Gaara laugh. He patted her head. "I said that anything would be fine." Hinata smiled, but then looked downward. "What's wrong?" Gaara leaned closer to her face. "Well… Did she look surprised at all? I haven't told her that I broke up with Deidara yet…" she looked at Gaara. He only smiled at her. "I think she already knew. Somehow." He shrugged. Hinata seemed to cheer up a little.

They heard Neji call them down for breakfast in an irritable tone. "Better get downstairs. Don't want Neji to get mad." Gaara said, standing up. "Ah! Okay!"

-:-

"Hey…"

"Hm?"

"What if…"

"What if…?"

"What if we were all vampires?"

"…"

"I mean, if we were all vampires, wouldn't we have our own manga or something? That'd be cool."

"Deidara, I think being separated from Hinata for real has gotten to your head."

"I know."

Deidara sighed, his head bobbing off the armrest of the couch. He's been like this for the past three days, and all Sasori does is watch. "Though… it'd be cool, right? I mean, like, totally sucking the blood of a woman (preferably one with blue hair, clear lavender tinted eyes, huge bust, and cute voice) sounds cool, right?" Deidara asked, glancing at Sasori. "I guess…" Sasori rolled his eyes and started flipping through the piles of manga on the table. In his hands was a copy of Fullmetal Alchemist. Deidara did the same, only to throw the book across the room.

"GRAAAAAAAHHHHH!!" He shouted. "What!? What!?" Sasori asked, a little ticked off because of Deidara's blatant disrespect of a book. "I LOVE HINATA STILL!!" Deidara yelled, taking random books from the pile and throwing them across the room. "Well don't take it out on the manga!" Sasori pushed the books out of reach of Deidara's arm and started picking up the books that he had thrown. "Honestly," he sighed. "It's good that you let her go to Gaara, but it's bad if you go and sulk about a choice that _you_ made!" Deidara pouted.

"She made the choice… I just let her get to it…" he muttered in a sour tone, pressing his face against a pillow. "Her boobs were softer than this pillow! I'm telling ya!" he whined, pounding his fists into the couch. "Dammit! This thing's a rock compared to her chest!" he threw it at Sasori, who threw it back to him instantly. "Quit talking to me about Hinata's breasts!"

"WAAAAHH!!" Deidara continued. Sasori sighed. "You're so lucky that everyone's at Itachi's house getting breakfast." He said, starting to put the manga back on the shelf. "If they heard you, they'd kill you. Seriously." He kept the Fullmetal Alchemist book to read. "But I _miss_ her!" Deidara whined.

"Yeah!? Try falling in love with her only to watch her date your best friend!" Sasori snapped. After that they were both silent. "It's not the best feeling in the world." He muttered, trying to focus on the manga he was reading. Deidara stared at him for a while and then sighed. "I'm sorry, Sasori." He closed his eyes. "I was so distracted by my heartbreak that I didn't realize how you felt. I knew you liked her, too."

"She was just so…! She was _amazing_…" Deidara smiled to himself as he thought about her. "Hm." Sasori grunted.

There was a knock at the door. Sasori got up to answer it as Deidara buried his face in the pillow.

"Oh Hi, Hinata. We were just talking about you." Sasori smiled as Hinata stepped in. She was carrying a bag, the scent of something good filling the room. "I thought that you guys didn't get to eat today… so I came to give this to you." She made her way to the kitchen. Deidara winced as she walked by. Sasori followed, leaving the door open for Gaara (yes, he was with her) to come in any time he liked.

Gaara did come in, his hands in his pockets and scanning the room for Hinata. He saw Deidara on the couch. He was glaring at him. Gaara thought for a second, looking for a reason that Deidara would be mad at him for. Then it came to him. _Ah. I took Hinata._ With that thought in mind, Gaara looked back at Deidara, who was already stomping towards him, an aura of rage behind him. "Uh… Hey…?" Gaara backed away slightly, holding out his hands defensively.

"You really piss me off, you know that?" Deidara growled, punching a fist into one of Gaara's hands. He swung his other arm to whack Gaara's head, but Gaara ducked and quickly made his way to the other side of the coffee table. Deidara cursed, running to him and punching his fists into Gaara's open hands. "Why are you doing this?" Gaara asked, deciding to push back on Deidara's fists. "…" he didn't answer. For the next few minutes their hands pressed against each other, trying to knock the other one over onto the ground.

--

"Thanks, Hinata." Sasori said, helping her by setting the table. "Are you going to eat with us?" he asked. Hinata shook her head. "I'm just giving you guys food… I hope you like it. I tried making something new and I needed someone to taste it." She giggled a little, setting the food near the center of the table. "Okay. Could you call Deidara? I'm sure he wants to eat." Sasori said, taking a seat at the table. "Alright." Hinata smiled and made her way to the living room. She gasped at what she saw.

"D-Deidara! What are you doing!?" Sasori, alarmed, stood up and walked out to the living room.

Hinata found Deidara trying to land a punch in Gaara's face. He kept dodging the swings, leaning backwards each time and flipping backwards when he got too low. Deidara huffed, moving to kick Gaara in the gut. He did, Gaara landing with a loud thud on the floor. Hinata shrieked his name, running to his side in an instant.

"Deidara! What the hell did you do that for!?" Sasori shouted, gripping Deidara's shoulder and shoving him onto the couch. Deidara only cursed under his breath and hugged a pillow to his chest, staring hard at Gaara and Hinata. "Talk, Deidara!" Sasori demanded, folding his arms across his chest. Deidara saw Hinata turn her head to look at him. She was almost… glaring. But she turned away, helping Gaara up and toward the couch.

"I got ticked off…" Deidara murmured, clutching the pillow tightly. "'Ticked off'!? Jesus, Deidara, you were trying to _kill _him! That hardly passes off as just being 'ticked off'!" Sasori waved an arm to Gaara. Deidara just avoided his gaze. "You can't just beat up your ex-girlfriend's boyfriend because you still –" Sasori stopped when he heard Hinata's shaking voice. "Sasori…" it was as if she was telling him to stop.

Deidara looked up at the sound of her voice. "Hinata…" Sasori started, but Hinata had stood up and walked over to Deidara's side. He sat up, staring her straight in the eye. As he expected, her hand raised up and got ready to slap him; he braced himself. But instead, he felt an arm wrap around his neck and a warm feeling on his chest. Hinata was hugging him.

"I thought… everything was okay…" she whispered, her voice cracking. "I thought you said… that it was okay. In our room… at the beach trip… I thought I heard you say that you could take it. You could accept me going to him…" Deidara hesitantly put an arm around her. "Maybe… you heard wrong." He muttered. He heard Hinata sob. "I heard you say that I didn't have to lie to you anymore… I heard you say that it was okay. I heard you!" she pulled away from him to wipe the tears out of her eyes. Deidara hated to see her cry, and that got him riled up again.

"Well maybe I lied! Maybe it's not okay! Maybe I _can't_ take it! Maybe I _want_ you to lie to me just so we can be together!" he snapped at her. She winced. "Maybe… I still love you." Sasori was about to say something, but he cut him off. "Shut up, Sasori! You love her too! If you dated her for a month you'd do the same thing!" he lashed at him. Hinata glanced at Sasori, who just blushed and turned away. Even he didn't know that he was so shy about it.

"Deidara…" Hinata started, reaching toward him. He shrugged her arm away and stomped to his room, slamming the door and letting out a loud yell. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

Hinata started crying again, shrinking down onto the couch.

"That stupid bastard!" Gaara shouted, sitting up. But Sasori stopped him. "He made Hinata cry." Gaara growled, trying to use it as his reason to beat him up. "No, Gaara… don't." he heard Hinata whisper. Gaara stared at her. "Hinata…"

"I guess…" she started. "He just needs some time to… think." The three were silent for a while. "Maybe… I… we should go." Hinata said. "Aw, come on. You don't have to; Deidara's just sulking." Sasori started, moving towards the kitchen. "I'm sure that he'll get over it eventually." His attempt at lifting the mood was almost convincing. Hinata smiled at him. "It's okay. Maybe tomorrow." She stood up and walked over to Gaara, who had recovered almost instantly after Deidara left the room. "Hinata…" he started. "It's alright… really." Gaara frowned. Her tone told him that it really wasn't. He wrapped an arm around her. "If you say so."

--

"You didn't have to say those things." Sasori said through the door of Deidara's room. He didn't eat and put the food Hinata brought in the microwave for later. "I know." He heard Deidara reply. "She feels terrible because she now knows that I love- … like her too." Sasori was sitting at the foot of the door, Deidara on the other side. "I know." Was his simple answer. "…Come on. Quit being such a kid! We've finally found something that's more important to us than anime! And right now, that something is currently thinking about us because she now knows that we thought about her almost every waking moment since we've met her."

Sasori frowned. "And right now her boyfriend hates you." He added. "What a coincidence! I hate me, too!" Deidara said sarcastically, his head banging on the door. "What I'm saying is that you have to apologize." Sasori murmured loud enough for him to hear. "No. She's not here anyway! I bet she hates me too! Yes! Let the whole world hate me because I made my ex-girlfriend cry!" Sasori heard Deidara 

stand up. "Do you hate me too?" he asked. "…That thought is still pending." Sasori chuckled softly. "Hm."

Sasori felt the door open behind him. "I'm hungry." Deidara grumbled. "Wait! Aren't you going to say sorry to Hinata?" Sasori asked angrily. "Well what do you want me to do? Call her?" Deidara stepped over Sasori and walked to the kitchen. "That would be nice, yes." Sasori answered, following him. "Can I eat first?" Sasori sighed, folding his arms over his chest. "Yeah. Go ahead. Make sure you call Hinata after, though." He said, sitting beside him. "Uh-huh."

"I really do miss her, though." Deidara mumbled while chewing his food. "Shut up." Sasori growled.

-:-

"So what are we going to do now? We have the whole day to ourselves." Gaara asked as they walked towards the park. "I don't know…" Hinata stared dazedly at the trees as she let Gaara lead her wherever around the park. He stared at her with a worried look. His arm wrapped tightly around her waist. It wasn't long until both were walking aimlessly; Gaara was focused solely on her while she was focused on… nothing.

Suddenly, Gaara tripped over something; as he fell forward, he took Hinata with him. Hinata snapped out of her thoughts as she fell on top of Gaara, letting out a surprised squeak as she did so. "G-Gaara! I'm sorry, are you alright!?" she asked, pushing herself up with both hands on either side of his head. Gaara opened his eyes and looked up at her, blushing a little at their position. Hinata saw the color on his cheeks and looked at how she was on top of him. Very… compromising.

She leaned up a bit to look at their surroundings. It seemed like they were in a field of flowers. How… cliché. She giggled a bit. Gaara sat up, looking around. He laughed, quickly pecking Hinata on the cheek since her face was so close to his. A light breeze blew just then, sending various flower petals up toward the sky. Hinata gasped, staring happily as the many colors danced with the wind around them. She leaned on Gaara as she did, smiling as his hands held hers. For a moment, all their worries were forgotten.

The wind died down, and the petals slowly fell like snow back to the ground. Hinata stood up and watched, her smile fading a little when everything settled. Gaara stood up beside her, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you." He said sweetly, kissing her head. Hinata pulled his face down to kiss her lips; they stayed like that for a long time. "I love you, too." She whispered, her hand resting on his shoulder. Gaara smiled. "How much?" he asked. "From here to the other side of the field." She responded.

"I love you from here to the other side of the world." He murmured in her ear. "Well I love you from here to around the world and back." She giggled a bit as he kissed her ear. "I love you from here to the moon and back." He swayed her from side to side. "I love you from here to the stars." She felt him lean his head on hers. "I love you so much that I'd follow you to the stars and take you back with me." Hinata felt her heart skip. Hearing him say that made her especially happy. "I'm glad." She said, pecking him on the lips.

Gaara kissed her again, this time a little fuller than before. Almost automatically his tongue pushed into her mouth. Her eyes widened a bit, turning a dark red as he memorized her mouth. He pulled her closer to him as he stroked her hair gently. Too soon, Hinata thought, they parted and were softly panting, looking into each other's eyes. "Um…" she started, but soon realized that she didn't have anything to say. Gaara kissed her head. "That was…" he paused, thinking of a cool word to describe the kiss. "Cool." What word is there that's cooler than 'cool'? Hinata giggled. "Seriously." She agreed.

The two started walking back towards the park, figuring that they could just spend time at Gaara's house playing video games. (How romantic.) But the second they walked through the door, Gaara remembered that he never told Temari that he was with Hinata now. He felt a chill run down his spine. Oh the sex jokes she'd make on them…

"Gaara! Hinata! Hey, welcome home!" Temari called from the living room. Hinata waved to her. Gaara grimaced. Temari walked over to them and gave Hinata a big hug. "Oh? What's this? A flower petal?" she picked the flower petal off of her head and examined it carefully. She held it up to her ear and nodded, almost as if it were telling her something. "I see… Hehe…" Temari grinned mischievously at Gaara. Apparently the flower petal knew things. "He did? No way…" Temari gasped in fake shock. "Nu-uh… haha."

Gaara took Hinata's hand, about to lead her away from his crazy sister. Before he could reach the stairs, Temari gripped his shoulder. He frowned and turned to look at her. "You two…" he heard her begin. Hinata smiled awkwardly at her. She could tell by Gaara's urgency to get away that he didn't tell her that they were dating yet.

"You two are going out, huh?" Temari smirked. "U-Um…" Hinata kept her awkward smile and glanced at Gaara. "Yeah, why?" he said, slowly inching towards the stairs. Hinata kept up with him as best as she could. "Well, I dunno… it's just that… I have to be curious as to _what_ you two are going to do upstairs." Temari smiled innocently, making Gaara's frown worsen a bit. Hinata blushed. "Nothing." Again, Gaara started inching toward the stairs. "Should we soundproof the house?" Temari offered. Gaara picked Hinata up and ran to his room, slamming the door closed. Temari only laughed to herself as she made her way back to the living room.

Gaara placed Hinata gently on the bed and sighed. "She's crazy, I swear." He murmured, closing the door. Hinata giggled softly. "It's okay. I don't mind much." She said. "'Much'." Gaara scoffed. He walked over to the TV and sat down in front of the three game consoles that he had. The PS2, Xbox 360, and the Wii. Hinata always told him how jealous she was of how he could get anything he wanted thanks to the company his father owned. "I can't get everything I want thanks to the company." He answered; and when he did he always looked at her with a look that she didn't recognize. Now it seemed kind of obvious that the thing he really wanted was her.

"Hey, what game do you wanna play?" Gaara's eyes scanned the stack of games (in no particular order) on the floor next to the TV. "Something… fun?" Hinata stretched her arms and rolled on his bed so that she was on her back. He glanced at her. "Define 'fun'." He chuckled lightly at her blush. "Maybe I shouldn't." She blurted out, putting her hands over her mouth. Gaara laughed, standing on his knees 

and leaning over her. He cupped her face and kissed her upside-down. "You're funny." He said, brushing the hair off her face.

"You saved the game when we played Kingdom Hearts, right?" she asked, looking at him awkwardly. He smiled. "Of course. We almost finished the game before you had to leave." He turned on the PS2 and the TV, popping in the game disc, moving back to sit on the bed. The game started, and before Gaara could hit the X button to play, Hinata kissed him down to the bed. He gave her a questioning look as she got in the same position they were in at the field of flowers in the park. She had a blush on her face, yet her almost determined look was amusing to him.

"I-I was never in the m-mood for g-games a-anyway…" she said softly. Gaara smirked a little, reaching for the remote to turn off the TV. "What are you in the mood for, then?" he asked, an arm wrapping around her waist. Hinata turned a dark red, looking away as if her mind was telling her 'mission abort'. "N-N-Nothing… Never mind… f-forget I said anything…" she stammered, moving to get off of him. She only succeeded in making him roll on top of her. "You can't try to pull something on me and say 'never mind' after you've got my attention." He leaned closer so that his lips were beside her ear. "Tell me what you want." He whispered huskily, feeling her shiver under him.

Hinata didn't know what to do, really. She acted on impulse for a minute; her body took over. And now she was in an awkward position with her boyfriend. _What should I do!? I'm the one who started this! And he looks so… so happy! I don't want to disappoint him! But what would satisfaction mean!?_ She blushed, looking at him with shy eyes. "I-I want…" she started. _WHAT DO I SAY!?_ She screamed at herself. Luckily, herself answered. _Well, answer him. What _do_ you want?_ That didn't help much.

Gaara looked at her, a small smile on his face. "I-I want…" she looked away for a second. "Okay… don't answer… I know_ exactly_ what you want…" he kissed her slowly; as if savoring her taste. Hinata closed her eyes tightly when his tongue made its way into her mouth again. Her body moved on impulse, and her tongue wrestled with his a little bit. He pulled away too soon and trailed down her jaw line to her neck, leaving light marks on it as he sucked on the pale skin. Hinata moaned slightly, chills running down her spine.

His lips moved down to her collarbone and his arms went under her shirt. But before he did anything, he pulled away. Hinata gasped at the sudden motion and looked at him. "Honestly, how long do you think I've known you? You're not straight-forward enough to ask me to sleep with you – especially like that." He said, shrugging as she gave him an unbelievable look. "You probably acted on impulse – I just played along for a little bit. Fun." He smiled at her as she blushed. "I-I-If you kn-knew… wh-why did you—" Gaara placed a finger to her lips. "You know you liked it." He smirked.

They stared at each other for a while. "So, Kingdom Hearts? You can play first." He offered her the controller, turning on the TV. Hinata continued to stare at him. "What?" he asked. "Y-Y-You're so…" she stuttered, slowly taking hold of the controller. It vibrated in her hands. "I'm so what?" he looked at her with an almost worried expression. "You're so… hot." She murmured the last word in a low voice, making it almost impossible to hear with the epic music in the background. He laughed a bit, turning the volume down.

"I'm so what?" he asked again, scooting closer to her. "N-Nothing! If you didn't hear me the first time, you won't hear it again!" Her urgency to avoid the subject was also amusing. "If you don't tell me, I'll have to force it out of you." He threatened playfully. "Mmm!" Hinata pressed her lips together. "You asked for it." He said, his arms wrapping around her and tickling her sides. She squealed with laughter, barely able to hold the controller as she tried to cover her sides. "Tell me!" he laughed, his squirming hands moving all over.

"…Hot." He heard Hinata mumble. He stopped for a second. "What was that?" he asked, removing his hands from her sides. "I said I think that you're really good looking." Hinata crawled onto the bed, rubbing her sides and curling up into a ball. "There's a three letter word for that." Gaara had a mischievous grin on his face. "I know." Hinata felt him put his hand on her back. "Don't you wanna use that word instead?" suddenly she hopped up, holding his face close to hers. She had that same determined look from a few minutes ago as she stared at him.

"I think you're hot." She declared. "Hawt. Smexy. Other synonyms for Gaara." By now she was dark red. Gaara grinned happily at her, cupping her face in both hands. "I think you're cute." He said calmly, pressing his lips to hers. "And sexy." He kissed her again. "And other synonyms for Hinata." He laughed as he pulled her into a hug.

The two were too fixated on each other to remember that they still had Kingdom Hearts playing on the TV.

-:-

I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer for another chapter. See you next chapter!

(PS: as always, sorry if it didn't make sense and stuff…)


	15. Final: Quit Sulking, Deidara

Gaara gently brushed away a few strands of hair from Hinata's face as she slept. She seemed to smile a little, shifting a little to move closer to him. He smiled, moving so that she could wrap her arms around him. He heard her murmur his name in her sleep and he blushed a little. Her eyes opened slowly and looked at him. "I didn't know you had dreams of me." He said teasingly as her face turned red. "Wh-What makes you say that?" she asked. "You moan my name in your sleep." He grinned at her.

Hinata buried her face in his chest, embarrassed. "It's okay. I dream about you, too." Gaara laughed, stroking her hair. She mumbled something he couldn't hear, so he leaned closer to listen. "What do we do in your dreams?" apparently she was looking for something to embarrass him with. "Oh… _this_ and _that_ and _other things…_" his response only made her feel even more embarrassed than before.

Then suddenly, she sat up. "What time is it?" she asked, looking around frantically for a clock. Gaara took his phone on the side table and told her it was about 4 in the morning. Hinata almost shrieked, if it weren't for the fact that everyone in the house was sleeping. "Are you serious?" she whispered. She was supposed to be home… about 8 hours ago. She had fallen asleep while she was here playing… what was it? Kingdom Hearts 2? She remembered fighting the Xemnas dragon (thingy). Her eyes looked toward the now turned off TV.

"Oh man… my parents are going to be so…" she buried her face in her hands. Gaara wrapped an arm around her waist. "Don't worry." He said. "I called your house after you fell asleep. They didn't want to wake you up, so they let you sleep here. They sent Neji over with your stuff for school tomorrow. Er… today." He laughed a bit, calming Hinata down a lot. "I love my parents." She sighed, laughing. What was even better was that they all still managed to have the best of times together on Sundays.

"By the way… when did I fall asleep?" she asked. Gaara shrugged. "Around seven? Eight?" he hadn't looked at the time. "But the whole time I was watching you." He smiled. Hinata blushed. "I love you." He murmured in her ear. She giggled, kissing him on the cheek. "I love you, too."

Hinata yawned a little after sitting back beside him. "Are you still sleepy? You sleep too much…" Gaara said, gently pushing Hinata down onto the bed. She pulled him down with her, using his arms as a blanket. She giggled a bit. "During Summer Vacation I sleep in until 1 and go to bed at 7." 10 was the latest she's ever slept during the summer. True story.

Gaara laughed. "Well this summer I'll have to keep you awake." He rubbed his nose gently with hers. "And you'll be staying up with me until dawn." Hinata blushed darkly, burying her face in his chest. He chuckled lightly. "But right now, go to sleep." He felt her relax and her breathing slow down until she fell asleep.

-:-

"Do you think she's even coming over today?" Deidara sighed as he sat in a weird position on the couch (his head upside down, one leg over an armrest and the other over the back; arms wherever). "Hinata doesn't seem to be the type to hold grudges. 'Specially against you." Sasori responded, also sitting on the other couch in a more calm position. "Why? Feeling guilty? Hinata's not the only person you need to apologize to." He said. "Who else?" Deidara asked, confused. "You don't remember?" Sasori asked, glancing at Deidara skeptically. He stared back. "Deidara, you kicked Gaara in the _gut_. That can't go by without at least a 'sorry'." Sasori sighed. "Oh. Right."

The two sat there for a while in silence. "Where are the other guys? They've been gone since yesterday." Deidara said finally. Sasori shrugged. "Maybe they went somewhere without us." He said. "That sucks." Deidara blew the hair from his face from boredom. "I wonder where they went." he rolled to the other side of the couch and assumed the same position. "I wonder what Hinata's doing right now." He thought aloud. "She's at school right now, I think." Sasori heard him scoff. "With Gaara." Deidara grumbled.

"Quit sulking. Be happy that she's coming over at all." Sasori said. "Hm…" Deidara closed his eyes.

-:-

After school, Gaara met Hinata at the gate. Then they started walking towards the Akatsuki base. Gaara noticed that Hinata was shaking a little. "Are you okay?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Well… last time… he hurt you." Hinata mumbled. Gaara knew who she was talking about. "I'm sure he's gonna say sorry. Besides, I'm fine." He patted his stomach to prove his point. Hinata shook her head. "You heard him, though… he still… he still loves me… and Sasori does too – that was a little sudden, don't you think?" she squeezed his hand gently as it moved to hold her. "And I'm sorry if I'm bringing you down when I talk about this, but—" she stopped suddenly.

Gaara looked up and saw that they were already at the Akatsuki base. He felt Hinata shiver a little and held her tighter. "Come on. It wasn't that bad." He murmured to her, raising his arm to knock on the door.

Sasori heard the knock and answered the door. "Oh hey." He glanced at Gaara before settling his eyes on the uncomfortable Hinata. "Hi…" she mumbled. Sasori moved aside to let them in. Hinata saw Deidara on the couch (in that weird position) and walked towards him. He knew she was there but refused to look at her. Gaara and Sasori watched from the door.

Hinata carefully placed her hand over his. She felt him tense a bit, but didn't pull away. "I'm sorry." She said softly to him. He growled. "Why are _you_ apologizing?" he asked. "Because you still love me. And I've hurt you thanks to that." She responded in the same soft voice. "That's not completely your fault." Deidara grumbled, sparing her a small glance. "I know… but that still means I have something to say sorry for." Hinata gently squeezed his hand. Deidara stayed silent. He couldn't sulk around forever.

Suddenly, he shot up and pulled her into a tight hug. Sasori glanced at Gaara, who seemed unfazed; almost as if he were expecting it. "No…" Deidara mumbled. Hinata wrapped an arm around him. "You shouldn't be the one to apologize." He continued. "I'm the one who did the bad things. Not you." He grit his teeth for a second. Hinata just listened silently.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I lied and said it was okay. I'm sorry I let you go. I'm sorry for… kicking your boyfriend in the gut." Deidara glanced at Gaara, who only shrugged. "I'm sorry that… God, I'm just sorry." He let go of her and gently kissed her head. "It's okay." Hinata breathed, smiling at him. He smiled back briefly before hopping off the back of the couch and walking to Gaara. He held out his hand. "Hey, man. Sorry for uh… Kicking you. In the stomach." Gaara grinned and slapped his hand to Deidara's. "I would've done the same thing." He said, giving his hand one firm shake. "Of course, you mean if you were in my situation, right?" Deidara asked. "Nope. I'd kick you whenever. Watch yourself." Gaara answered casually. Deidara nodded slowly. _I… guess that's fair…_

"Everything's okay, now, right? No more crying, beating, and all that depressing love crap, right?" Sasori asked. Gaara shrugged. "It's as okay as it's gonna get." He replied. "Good. Now, there's just one thing I want to get off my chest."

Sasori walked over to Hinata and took her hands in his. He leaned over and kissed her gently for a few seconds before pulling away. Ignoring the looks of disbelief on Deidara and Gaara's faces, he whispered softly in her ear a quick, "I love you." Before moving to sit on the couch. "Alright. Go ahead and do what you want." He waved a hand in the air dismissively.

"SASORI!!" Deidara and Gaara shouted angrily. Hinata just stood there, her arms frozen in place. The only difference from the position she was in with Sasori was that her eyes were wider and her face a dark red. _S-Sasori's… Sasori's a __really__ good kisser. _

-:-

_**Gaara has signed in**_

_**Hina-chan has signed in**_

_Gaara: what is up?_

_Hina-chan: the ceiling. Why?_

_Gaara: lol very funny_

_Hina-chan: well… I was just wondering about somethin_

_Gaara: wut?_

_Hina-chan: have you been hearing these weird voices in your head? _

_Gaara: … enlighten me._

_Hina-chan: Like… do you hear a voice inside the back of your head that tells you things that you can't admit to yourself? It sounds just like you and everything, only a little different? _

_Gaara: Yeah. Why?_

_Hina-chan: well… it's telling me to invite you over. Its telling me to tell you to jump in through my window like last time. Do you know anything about that? It's just now creeping me out._

_Gaara: I'll be over in a flash. The voice in my head is telling me to go over to your house or he'll make me mentally retarded. Lol_

_Hina-chan: uh… lol…?_

_Gaara: so yeah. Leave ur window open im on my way now_

_Hina-chan: k see ya ltr_

_Gaara: Oh, and Hinata?_

_Hina-chan: hm?_

_Gaara: I love you._

_Hina-chan: … I love you too –heart emote-_

_Gaara: )_

_**Gaara has signed out**_

_**Hina-chan has signed out**_

--

_Okay, so Hinata, the second he steps in here, give him the biggest kiss you can give __– _

_-_

_**-- and stay like that for as long as you can. Then when you stop to breath tell her—**_

_-_

_--that you love him. Okay? _

_What'll this do… exactly?_

_It makes for a great__—_

_-_

_**Happily Ever After. Why?**_

…_what the heck? Why do you care? Don't you have your own happily ever after to take care of? That… Mikaru-chan or whatever?___

_**Just**_

_Do_

_**It.**_

-

Hinata waited by the window, leaning on the foot of the bed as she waited for Gaara. The second she heard him climb up the tree she jumped up, waiting to jump on him – to kiss him. As he made his way through the window, his arms were already open to welcome her. She ran to him and kissed him as hard as she could; he did the same. They parted for air. "I love you." They said at the same time. Completely confused, they stayed silent for a few minutes. Then they laughed.

"Sh-Shh! They're sleeping right now!" Hinata shushed him. "Shut me up the proper way, will you?" Gaara pressed his lips to hers. He twirled her around a little until they tripped over the bed. "You think I can sleep here again?" he asked, nosing her cheek. "I don't know… I don't want you to leave, but I don't want someone to find out you're here." Hinata said, suddenly in a whisper. Gaara buried his face in her neck. "Mm…" he kissed her once. "You smell good." He said, wrapping his leg around her. She squeaked and turned a dark red. "You feel good too, right?" he asked, rolling on top of her. "Uh-huh." She pecked him on the cheek.

They stared like that for a while. "Are you going to sleep soon?" Gaara glanced at the clock. It was almost 1. Hinata shrugged. "Maybe." She relaxed under him. Gaara smiled, brushing her hair aside to kiss her forehead. "You have to sleep. I'll be right here when you do." He said softly. "Will you be here in the morning…?" Hinata asked, the sleepiness evident in her voice. "Of course." He whispered. "Will anyone know……?" she was barely awake to hear his answer. "Not a soul."

Before she completely fell asleep, she gently tugged at the collar of his shirt to pull him closer. "I love you, Gaara." She whispered to him. He smiled and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Sleep, love." He laughed to himself at the phrase. She fell asleep instantly after that, as if the command turned her brain off so it could obey the order. He wrapped an arm around her and buried his face in her neck.

"Vanilla? No, no... lavendar...?" he closed his eyes in concentration.

-:-

Epilogue: Love

"Gaara…?" Hinata was at Gaara's house again. The two were gathered up on the bed just talking to each other about random subjects.

"Hm?" the tip of his nose brushed her head as he looked down to look at her. "I love you a lot. Did you know that?" she giggled a little. "I knew that. And did you know that I love you more?" It sounded almost like a challenge. "I don't believe that. I love you more." Hinata argued. "Ex_cuse_ me, who went out with a girly blonde-haired man that kicked me in the gut?" Gaara said haughtily. Hinata scoffed. "Well who wasn't brave enough to ask me out first?"

Gaara paused. "Let's battle a different way." He said, stroking her hair like an evil mastermind does a kitten. "Like what?" Hinata asked, pretending to purr to go along with the joke. He chuckled softly, and then said into her hair, "Like, knowledge. How much we know about each other will decide how much we love each other. Hm?" Hinata pouted. Gaara never shared anything about himself. "You go first." She said.

"Okay… Gimme a question." He said.

"Uh… favorite anime." She had one in mind: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (TTGL).

"That would be… uh… Gurren Lagann. You say it has a little bit of everything from romance to comedy to badass giant Mech fights." Gaara stated. Hinata pouted when he said, "Your turn. Do I wear boxers of briefs?" he laughed at her expression. "U-Uh… B-B-Boxers?" she stammered, looking up to him to see if she was right. "Correct. One kiss for you." He kissed her.

"Favorite music?" Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck. "You don't have a favorite Genre or artist, but you say that whatever you listen to is what you like. You prefer songs over Genre, really." He shrugged. Apparently it was an easy question. "What's my favorite game?" Gaara asked. "Uh… Kingdom…Hearts…?" Gaara tsk'd her, then kissed her head only. "It's DMC, silly." Hinata pouted. "Okay, fine. Here's a hard one; what's the size of my bed?" she challenged. Gaara sighed. "If this is tough, Hinata, I can say that I love you a lot more right now." He laughed. "Full size – and before you ask, your sheets are the flower pattern with five pillows; one long one with a gray square pattern, one green pillow for your head, white for the head pillow to the right of your head, and blue and white polka dot patterned matching pillows on your left."

"Show off…" Hinata muttered under her breath.

"What's _my_ favorite anime?" Gaara asked. "Bleach. Easy." Hinata mumbled, sulking. He laughed a little, kissing her again. "Okay, how about this? Since you know me so well, what would my nickname for you be if I gave you one?" Hinata snuggled closer to him. He thought for a few minutes. "Hm… toughy. But I'd have to say… Gaa-chan?" he heard her giggle. "What?" he kissed her head. "That's such a silly name…" She smiled cutely. "But it's right. –heart- You love me more – but I still love you a lot." She kissed his cheek. "I know. Me too."

-:-

"It's the end of the story. What should we do?" Pein asked, standing at the front of the living room with his arms folded over his chest.

"Something awesome." Hidan said.

"Something that everybody would want." Kakuzu shrugged.

"Something… cool." Sasori said thoughtfully.

"Something relevant to the story." Itachi muttered.

"We have to go out with a bang." Deidara laughed a little.

"Swimming sound nice right now…" Kisame, of course.

"Oh! We could get a houseplant and name him Zetsu! That'd be cool!" Tobi raised his hand in the air.

"That's a cool idea, but that's not exactly… exciting…" Pein said. "We could make it look exciting." Sasori suggested. "How?" Pein inquired.

--

"Do you have the plant…?" a shadowy figure asked in a dark voice. It echoed off the cold stone brick walls of the room, the only light coming from the sacrificial fire surrounding the table like a moat. Only it was fire. And burning.

"It's right here." Another voice carefully placed the plant in the center of the table with a fiery moat. "Ah… Good. It is ready." A third voice laughed evilly.

"Where is the water? We must quench this plant's thirst with a pail of water." The voice sounded like the leader of the group. "It is here, leader!" someone handed him a watering pail that had a pretty flower pattern on it. Very unfitting in a medieval setting such as this. "Good. We shall commence the ceremony right—"

Suddenly, the door opened, letting in buckets of unwanted light. The other men hissed, recoiling to cover their eyes with their dark cloaks.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" A woman's voice came from the unholy light. "K-K-Konan! Hey! We were just…" Pein, who was still holding the watering pail stammered as he stood up to greet his girlfriend. "What are you doing to the poor plant? It needs air, not fire! Who put this here, anyway!?" Konan took the plant and put it on the coffee table in the living room.

"Aw, Konan! Why'd you have to ruin our fun?" Hidan groaned, walking out of the dark room. "You were going to kill the plant!" Konan carefully lifted the leaves to check for any damage. "I actually want this plant to grow instead of all our other ones." She scolded.

"We were just kidding around. We were trying to make everything excitingly epic and stuff." Sasori shrugged out of the cloak and threw it into his room. "Where did we get that table, anyway? Who lit it on fire?" Konan put her hands on her hips and stared at each man in the room skeptically. All eyes pointed to Pein, who laughed awkwardly. "Well… You see, we didn't have anything to do to end the story in a cool way, so we decided to get a plant and call it Zetsu." He explained. Konan nodded. "I understand, yet I don't want to. Whatever." She sat on the couch and stared at the plant.

"I wonder what we're going to do now." She said. Pein sat beside her. "I dunno. Maybe we could—"

-:-

**END**

LOL ME FAIL

Okay, so this story is ending-ed. Ending: FAIL. Epilogue: FAIL. Story Altogether: D MINUS

Sorry for the usual crap i say sorry for (i.e. not making sense, poor plot planning, random shit, and the incredibly long wait for chapters that are rarely worth it.)

If you guys want a sequel of some sort, I already have one planned out. I just need like, five people to tell me to make one.

Bye.


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